minerals

What is silvopasture? Silvopasture is a form of agroforestry where trees are deliberately planted to be part of a farms livestock system. Three tree planting designs are being trialled as part of a field lab investigating the benefits of agroforestry. Planting trees to suit grazing...

At a recent Innovative Farmers event a farmer asked the question: which tree species should I choose to provide the best nutritional supplements for my dairy cows? Ideally, there would be a simple table of tree species with their nutritional benefits listed next to them, and this would answer...

Grass measuring in a perennial ryegrass and chicory sward Source: Teagasc Incorporating a mixed sward on to sheep farms can result in earlier slaughter weights for lambs and improvements in ewe condition, according to new research. With diverse sward mixtures becoming a feature on more farms in...

Written by Richard Halleron from Agriland Ulster Grassland Society recently hosted a successful visit to the Kilkeel farm of James, and Brenda Henderson. The business is managed by the couple and a number of family members. Their farm extends to 150ac; 135ac are in grass, the remainder is...

VICTORIA HALLIDAY As our climate changes, farmers are branching out when it comes to decisions on what they should grow. Here, we look at some crops that might fare well as UK temperatures increase, and consider how these might fit into a more sustainable farming system. On a farm in West...

Just whatch Ollie Harrison complaining about interest rates , has he a point? Raising rates hits those with borrowed money These people will have less disposable cash as a percentage of their profit goes in repayments ect Whilst those with cash in the bank receive increased return so have a...

Interesting article in The Grocer. Seems rest of industry catching up with what we have known for some time.

FG headlines with another 10% considering dropping out from dairying. Isn't time for more transparent purchasing similar to the mono gastric sectors? Are we going to see margins on dairy diets set at a level similar to pig and poultry sector going forward? There is an awful lot of independent...

I always suspected the oat milk trend was rubbish – now I’ve been proved right Forget the ridiculous health and planet-saving claims, these substitutes aren’t the magical wholesome alternatives they’re marketed to be CELIA WALDEN15 August 2023 • 8:00am Over the past 20 years, it feels as...

Hello I am looking for some grass variety those can resist to a lot of water during the winter but not during the summer. Can you tell what are the best variety for silage or grazing? And how do you renew your grasslands ?

We are thinking about changing to bolusing our sucklers rather than using Lifeline and GP mineral buckets. Primarily because in the last 12 months we’ve spent over £1200 on the aforementioned buckets for 40 sucklers, which seems excessive to me? The calving pattern is v drawn out so to get the...

What shall I feed for 3 weeks before calving? Holsteins, big yield variation (7000 to 12000 litres), we are slowly moving towards a lower yield grazing system. Herd av. 8500. Normal diet is 50% maize, 50% hay, 3kg Translac rolls. Semi-decab diet. No maize pit open at the moment due to...

Fascinating report on a mahoooosive new mine in North Yorks. It's the new type of fertiliser product that will be coming out of the ground that also fascinated me.

Written by Louise Hickey from Agriland The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed that the budget for the National Liming Programme has doubled from €8 million to €16 million, which would mean each eligible applicant in the 2023 programme could get approval for up to 40t of...

What is the feed value of a dandelion? And do dandelion’s indicate/a sign of a lack of nutrients or something? Drought conditions they obviously thrive in due to there long tap roots . They can’t be too dissimilar to chicory /plantain surely in there nutrients? Cattle graze them down as good as...

I'm not savy enough to supply a link , but big piece on the Daily Mail website regarding Roundup and cancer

Our July livestock collectives did very well with many of our members getting a great price for Maize additives, minerals, rumen protected fats and milk powder. After speaking to our members and getting feedback on the collectives, we've listened to popular demand and have decided to run them...

Currently feeding cereal blend out using bags (housed cattle, feed passage, into troughs). 330kg/day, twice a day feeding. Getting tired of filling and lifting 20/25kg bags. We have an auger bucket on farm which goes in front of telehandler. Is it possible with the auger bucket to have a...

I've only sheep, they seem fed up. On lovely looking grass but licking salt as if it was November also pushing walls down (licking the dusty centre of the wall), but not happy when moved to another field. I had some waste cabbage & fed them some not interested. They do however go crazy for...

Is it ok to give sheep a vitamin drench at the same time as a wormer?