Spring turnout…it’s a highlight in the calendar for most livestock farmers. After months of gruelling work keeping livestock housed throughout the winter, we look forward to fairer weather, more daylight hours, and seeing livestock enjoying some fresh spring grass. It can be tempting at this stage to down tools and let nature work its magic. […]
19
Feb
Feb
First generation sheep farmer, Felix Johnson-Gibbs, has embraced trial and error to accomplish a seamless system. Having tried out a number of different sheep lick buckets to find the best performer, Crystalyx comes out on top as his firm favourite. Felix Johnson-Gibbs started his farming journey aged only thirteen, with only passion and determination to […]
18
Feb
Feb
Cow nutrition in the run-up to calving is an absolute priority for dairy farmer — Jim Corby. With this in focus, Jim has encountered very low levels of milk fever, retained placentas, and calf mortality. Jim milks 120 pedigree British Friesian cows, along with his wife Elaine, at Ballynagrana in County Tipperary. Fully registered with […]
13
Feb
Feb
There was a tremendous turnout of farmers for a recent ‘lambing information’ evening, hosted by Fane Valley at the company’s Ballycastle store in North Co Antrim. Courtesy of his presentation, Crystalyx Ireland’s David Morgan highlighted the role of high quality forages in the diets offered to ewes in late pregnancy prior to lambing. He also […]
10
Feb
Feb
Keep sheep in good condition – even in challenging conditions – from just 4 pence per ewe per day! AHDB conducted a study into neonatal survival and confirmed that poor long-term protein status and poor energy balance in late pregnancy (particularly in twins) are linked to elevated lamb losses and poor growth rate. Relying solely […]
06
Feb
Feb
Having built up a flock of 2,700 sheep from scratch, farming prolific ewes on a lot of poor pasture doesn’t seem to be a problem for Alan Collett. Feeding ewes pre lambing to maintaining condition has kept any hurdles to growth down. Crystalyx Extra High Energy continues to play a key part throughout winter. Alan […]
30
Jan
Jan
Turning stock out to grass in spring comes as a relief to many farmers. However, animal performance and health suffer when livestock do not maintain a nutritionally balanced diet. Fast-growing and lush grass in early season is often low in minerals and lacking magnesium. When cattle are turned out to graze, they risk developing grass […]
21
Jan
Jan
Having access to the correct nutrition is never more important than in the lead up to calving. Here we consider the suitability of a cattle mineral block in achieving this efficiently and effectively. For any beef or dairy system – calving health, calving ease, calf ‘get-up-and-go’, and colostrum and milk production – hinges on effective […]
19
Dec
Dec
As ewes near lambing, glucose demands increase. At the same time, however, appetite decreases. This is a perfect storm for the dreaded twin lamb disease. This is one of the most compelling times of the year to supplement with a mineral lick for sheep. Twin lamb disease not only impacts on ewe health, but also […]
18
Dec
Dec
Before Simone Dawson perfected her pre calver management strategy, she was on the verge of significantly cutting down cow numbers to a more manageable level. However, her calving issues swiftly resolved after she introduced a simple yet effective tool: a humble yellow feed bucket. With almost half a million followers on TikTok alone, you might […]
