Articles

Yorkshire pig producers, for whom 100% dry straw is critical, have encouraged the development of strong plastic sheets which can be firmly applied to a bale on the ground and then lifted up to “top off” the rick.

POD is the term used to describe the wastage which can occur when made silage is exposed to air/oxygen.  It is caused by the rapid growth of microbes (principally yeasts and moulds) in the silage and one side effect is that the silage begins to heat.

The time to plan for All Grass Wintering is coming up.

Now we are in August, nights will start drawing in and thoughts should be cast towards planning for the winter.

Lambs grew ~50g per day more, weaned 2.4 kg heavier and needed less wormer treatment when grazed on diverse swards (containing red clover, white clover, chicory and plantain) compared with perennial ryegrass swards.

Whilst not forgetting the importance of slaughter characteristics, here are ten things to remember when selecting a maternal sire.

Weaning typically falls between week 12 and 16 of lactation; wean earlier if ewes and lambs are competing for scarce grass, wean later when grass is abundant. 

Two unusual points with this year’s lambing were – great weather and a much larger proportion of the flock lambing in the first 2 – 3 weeks.

Acute rumen fluke was diagnosed in autumn 2016 with three deaths from a group of 60, and other ewes leaner than expected.  At post mortem large numbers of immature rumen fluke were detected in the small intestine.

There are two good reasons to consider selling spring born calves store this autumn.