06-Oct-2016

Lamb Carcase Classification Lamb carcase grades during September have been poorer than previous years following wet conditions in August and September. Despite plentiful supplies of grass on most farms, performance has not reflected this due to the poor nutritional content of the forage. As a result, farmers are encouraged to carefully select lambs for slaughter to avoid penalties which may affect the profit margin of the enterprise. Concentrate supplementation is becoming more important during Autumn and Winter months, as the quality of grass continues to fall. The protein content of the diet can be used to manipulate the quality of the lamb carcase. Feeding concentrates will increase the overall protein percentage of the diet and help to increase the daily live weight gain (DLWG) of the lambs while controlling the fat deposition. By manipulating carcase quality, and achieving E and U grades, lambs will be paid up to 30p/kg above base which can increase profit by up to £6.00 per lamb.

06-Oct-2016

The importance of high quality silage - Silage quality can greatly impact upon the profitability of any livestock enterprise. It is important to get a silage analysis carried out to evaluate the quality of your forage which will allow you to calculate how much meal is required to maximise daily live weight gains and also to assess the specification of meal to purchase. The targets for a high quality silage are 12MJ ME, 25-30% dry matter and 14-15% crude protein (CP). By feeding a high quality silage to finishing cattle, a daily live weight gain of 0.9kg-1.0kg/day can be achieved with 2-3kg of 10% C.P concentrate. Poor silage will require up to 5-6kg of 16% C.P concentrate to achieve the same daily live weight gain, leading to a higher cost of production and a reduction in the profit margin for the beef enterprise. Silage is the cheapest feed stuff available and as a result it should be utilized to maximise profit. In previous years farmer’s aimed to maximise yield while research has showed quality is now more important. Meal is one of the highest variable costs for any beef production system and good quality silage can reduce this cost by up to 50%.