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I was once using maize gluten in the diet which was good feed but could not get hold of any for a time was advised wheatfeed was a good replacement the only thing that grew on the cattle was there hair couldn’t get off quick enough it anylisis a lot better than it feeds , if I was growing store cattle I would use maize gluten and throw a bag of minerals in very good feed right amounts of starch and protein for growing cattle and a damn site cheaper than cake
 
Okay thanks. I'll have to ask for sugar and starch content next time. What sort of money will wheatfeed pellets be? Or are we better off just feeding our own rolled barley with mollases & minerals that we already have and then buying some protein nuts/soya to mix in?

i dont know what scale you are or what infrastructure you have. Either way, if you want those cattle to perform and grow frame and push them on you need a balanced diet. Don't feed barley on its own to youngstock because they will not put frame on and will be fat and plump.
From 140kg to 450-500kg you can very ealisy and effectivley feed a protein source 20-25%CP minimum along with a few kg of barley. Soya and barley = exceptional
As a simple Example:
140kg Lw feed 3-4kg of protein (if soya half that) and add 1-2kg of barley with it, when they get to 300kg increase to 5kg (if soya half that) of the protein and 3kg of barley until they reach 450-500kg and have a nice frame. Then you can start fattening them on more barley. always have some straw or hay available for rumen function.
If you feed grass silage then you can reduce how much bought in protein you use.
You need at least 16%CP in the ration if you want any young cattle to grow properly.

What im trying to say with all that is, when it comes to young stock, companys will always steer you towards a nut or blend because its easy. But there are so many more options people dont even realise simply because everyone in the industry has been doing the same thing since adam and eve.
 
i dont know what scale you are or what infrastructure you have. Either way, if you want those cattle to perform and grow frame and push them on you need a balanced diet. Don't feed barley on its own to youngstock because they will not put frame on and will be fat and plump.
From 140kg to 450-500kg you can very ealisy and effectivley feed a protein source 20-25%CP minimum along with a few kg of barley. Soya and barley = exceptional
As a simple Example:
140kg Lw feed 3-4kg of protein (if soya half that) and add 1-2kg of barley with it, when they get to 300kg increase to 5kg (if soya half that) of the protein and 3kg of barley until they reach 450-500kg and have a nice frame. Then you can start fattening them on more barley. always have some straw or hay available for rumen function.
If you feed grass silage then you can reduce how much bought in protein you use.
You need at least 16%CP in the ration if you want any young cattle to grow properly.

What im trying to say with all that is, when it comes to young stock, companys will always steer you towards a nut or blend because its easy. But there are so many more options people dont even realise simply because everyone in the industry has been doing the same thing since adam and eve.
You talk a lot of sense. We have noticed too that the dedicated all singing all dancing expensive beef but really isn’t that great for cattle if the starch is low and when you ask about this it’s difficult to get an answer.
I think the trouble is any blend or nut delivered in small quantities is always going to be much dearer due to the handling and haulage of such like. KW have done me mixes of straights in the past and although they seemed like a big outlay at the time have saved teens of thousands per year (every year) we did it. Realistically that money should be put towards infrastructure to handle and mix such like with a bit of advice from people like yourself.
 
i dont know what scale you are or what infrastructure you have. Either way, if you want those cattle to perform and grow frame and push them on you need a balanced diet. Don't feed barley on its own to youngstock because they will not put frame on and will be fat and plump.
From 140kg to 450-500kg you can very ealisy and effectivley feed a protein source 20-25%CP minimum along with a few kg of barley. Soya and barley = exceptional
As a simple Example:
140kg Lw feed 3-4kg of protein (if soya half that) and add 1-2kg of barley with it, when they get to 300kg increase to 5kg (if soya half that) of the protein and 3kg of barley until they reach 450-500kg and have a nice frame. Then you can start fattening them on more barley. always have some straw or hay available for rumen function.
If you feed grass silage then you can reduce how much bought in protein you use.
You need at least 16%CP in the ration if you want any young cattle to grow properly.

What im trying to say with all that is, when it comes to young stock, companys will always steer you towards a nut or blend because its easy. But there are so many more options people dont even realise simply because everyone in the industry has been doing the same thing since adam and eve.
Finishing approx 100 a year. Get 40 baby calves a year and 60 stores. First and second cut in the same clamp. Third cut in bales. Own roller mill with mixer, no weigh cells, molasses tank above it, mix minerals in with it. 10 ton feed bin for nuts etc. Plenty of hay and straw and barley and wheat available as arable farming too.
You suggest lopro soya as the cheapest form of protein?
Like you say nuts is the easiest and consequently have always used these for young stock.
 
Finishing approx 100 a year. Get 40 baby calves a year and 60 stores. First and second cut in the same clamp. Third cut in bales. Own roller mill with mixer, no weigh cells, molasses tank above it, mix minerals in with it. 10 ton feed bin for nuts etc. Plenty of hay and straw and barley and wheat available as arable farming too.
You suggest lopro soya as the cheapest form of protein?
Like you say nuts is the easiest and consequently have always used these for young stock.
By all means Brewers grains, even at their current price, are the cheapest source of protein out there if you can get them. There are plenty of people doing Ad-lib mash filtered brewers grains to calves top dressed with a couple kilos of barley on similar systems and numbers.
if you cant get those brewers then i would suggest soya, after that i would suggest wheat distillers and make a home mix with minerals to feed with your grass silage. there are people out there that will help you figure it out, you just have to stand your ground sometimes with Dry Feed company's because they will always try to steer you towards a blend, that's what they are paid to do. Margins on straight are marginal, margins on blends are very High.
And if you cant get anyone to help you can always send me a message and i will happily help you.
 
By all means Brewers grains, even at their current price, are the cheapest source of protein out there if you can get them. There are plenty of people doing Ad-lib mash filtered brewers grains to calves top dressed with a couple kilos of barley on similar systems and numbers.
if you cant get those brewers then i would suggest soya, after that i would suggest wheat distillers and make a home mix with minerals to feed with your grass silage. there are people out there that will help you figure it out, you just have to stand your ground sometimes with Dry Feed company's because they will always try to steer you towards a blend, that's what they are paid to do. Margins on straight are marginal, margins on blends are very High.
And if you cant get anyone to help you can always send me a message and i will happily help you.
Thank you for the advice. I’ll see what I can find regarding brewers grains, think soya might or the wheat distillers might be the best bet for our system seeing as they’re dry feed and can be stored in our bin. I’ve got a rep coming next week to sample the silage so I’ll see what I can learn from his as well. (y)
 

aangus

Member
Location
cumbria
Paying £240 for a 16% rearing cattle nut on a fixed price contract until April (blown in). What is the going rate for that at the moment and what is it likely to go up to come April?
If it’s from one of the well known feed firms it’s a wonder the haven’t used force majour( costs out of their control)
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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