The importance of upholding soil health and sustaining its productivity for the future is essential. No matter what the enterprise, we are reliant on soil for all production, either to produce our crops or forage to feed livestock. Therefore, measures must be taken to conserve soil, which is more vulnerable to erosion and the leaching of essential nutrients over the winter months, especially after the harvest of maize crops.
Body condition scoring (BCS) is a simple, cheap highly effective important management tool to assess a ewe’s body reserves. Monitoring the flocks BCS at key points in the reproductive cycle will help maximise lamb survival, reduce metabolic disease risk and produce high quality and plentiful colostrum and milk
Back at the start of 2023, the acronym ‘CALF HEALTH’ was chosen by the calf and youngstock team to base their newsletter articles on. Each letter represented a topic that contributed towards improving calf health.
Autumn 2023 was a difficult one for many, with the only real drilling window way back in September we have seen a deluge of rain since which seems to have no end in sight, with forecasts predicting wet weather into the new year. This has meant only a handful of opportunities to get on the land to cultivate and then sow autumn crops.
As we start to look to what 2024 will bring, it’s a natural instinct to turn to spring cereals for any land that didn’t get planted in the autumn - deliberately or otherwise! However, with shortages of spring cereals it’s now more important than ever to remember that autumn cereals can be sown successfully into the new year. So, here are my top tips for late sowing winter wheat!
The importance of balancing energy and protein requirements in lamb diets throughout growth cannot be understated. The same principles should be applied to ensure vitamins and minerals are balanced responsibly, enabling optimum utilisation of the total diet.
Each trace mineral has a different role to play in the body, and although the requirements may seem small in quantity, they are vital to the health and performance of all animals.
Not all lamb milk replacements are the same. Following colostrum feeding, the choice of a lamb milk replacer for artificially reared lambs is an important consideration. A digestible, carefully formulated milk replacer can help lambs to achieve their full growth potential to develop into strong, robust lambs which continue to perform.
With the onset of winter rapidly approaching and grass quality decreasing, Wynnstay’s beef and sheep manager, Bryn Hughes, advises farmers to plan ahead for housing cattle over winter.
Beef and Sheep manager, Bryn Hughes advises farmers to make informed adjustments to their ewe management practices for greater success during the lambing season.
Lambs are born with an immunological disadvantage due to immunoglobulins being unable to be passed through the placenta to the lamb during pregnancy, making them particularly vulnerable to diseases. During the first two hours of life the gut is 20-30% efficient at absorbing IgGs, but the capability of the gut declines to 0% after 24 hours. Consequently, it is crucial that lambs receive colostrum soon after birth in order to absorb sufficient antibodies to reduce the risk of disease and mortality.
As we head into the season of horses growing their winter coats, it is important that we avoid excessive sweating with clipping to help coat care and speed up the cooling process after work to keep their skin and muscles in the best possible condition. This helps horses to regulate their body temperature and here are a couple of my top tips to help you achieve an effective clip.
