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DECEMBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: A NEW MOLASSES TO THE MARKET... EARLY ORDER OFFER ON ECOSYL... FARM ASSURANCE... MINERALS AND VITAMINS QUIZ... WHAT IS A FAT - GOLDSTAR COMPARISON...? THANK YOU We take this opportunity of thanking every one of you who has supported us with your trade over the past years. Without your support we would not be the force we are in the area. We wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Rouxminate Boost herd productivity with the unique benefits of Rouxminate … EARLY ORDER OFFER ON ECOSYL The conservation of good grass is one of the main factors to better profit. Whether you are a dairy or beef farmer, quality milk or beef is of paramount importance. Quality silage can often be assisted by a good additive and the one with the most independent feeding trials and the one that has stood the test of time is the range marketed by ECOSYL PRODUCTS LTD. NEW ECOSYL ULV Ultra low volume liquid application to clamped grass where Aerobic stability is not an issue Apply at 20ml per tonne (20 litres required for 1000 tonnes of grass) means one fills lasts all day Applies 1 million bacteria per gram grass guaranteed 2 day tank mix life plus additional 10 days of additional storage 1 bottle treat 100 tonnes of grass (mix with 2 litres of water) GMO Free and suitable for Organic use Cost £1.18 per tonne (order before 31st Jan 2006) ECOSYL 66 For clamped grass where aerobic stability is not an issue Apply at 1½ litres per tonne Applies 1 million bacteria per gram of grass guaranteed 3 Day tank mix life 1 bottle treats 66 tonnes of grass (mix with 100 litres of water) GMO Free and suitable for Organic use Cost £1.18 per tonne (order before 31st Jan 2006) DOUBLE ACTION ECOSYL For clamped high DM Silage (above 30%) Inoculant and Acid applied at 2 litres per tonne Applies 1 million bacteria per gram of grass guaranteed 2 day tank mix life 1 can treats 50 tonnes grass (mix with 100 litres of water) GMO Free and restricted for Organic use Cost £1.29 per tonne (order before 31st Jan 2006) Ecosyl silage additive can improve the performance from your winter forage by increasing milk yield by over 1 litre per cow per day. In a 100 cow herd housed for 180 days during winter, income can increase by around £40 per cow at a milk price of 18 pence per litre if fed Ecosyl treated forage. This equates to £4000 extra income for the herd. We hope this has made you think about next years' silage crop and the benefits ECOSYL PRODUCTS could bring to you. Please ring the office on 01948 661602 for more information or to place an order before 31st January 2006. MINERALS / VITAMINS A little quiz Do you include additional minerals in blends fed to dairy cows? Does your present diet supply adequate vitamins and minerals for the modern high yielding dairy cow? What are adequate vitamin and mineral levels? Does your present mineral meet the cow's requirements? Do you know the effects minerals and vitamins can have on fertility, mastitis and lameness? What are the levels of minerals in your forage? Over the last few years it has become more important to feed adequate minerals and vitamins because: The increase in the use of blends means that the mineral and vitamins in concentrate cannot deliver the cows requirement. Higher milk yield mean higher mineral and vitamins are required. A wider range of home grown feeds being used could be short of minerals of have a detrimental effect (e.g. selenium and copper) A dramatic decline in cow fertility. Increasing evidence of the role or minerals and vitamins in animal health. GP Feeds can help check your mineral requirement by forage testing and customising minerals for individual farm requirements A typical mineral supplement will cost about 5p per cow per day so get it checked out. Get it right and your cows will live happily ever after. QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR QUALITY PRODUCTION
DECEMBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: A NEW MOLASSES TO THE MARKET... EARLY ORDER OFFER ON ECOSYL... FARM ASSURANCE... MINERALS AND VITAMINS QUIZ... WHAT IS A FAT - GOLDSTAR COMPARISON...? THANK YOU...
FARM ASSURANCE - DECEMBER 2005
Many of you will be experiencing a new round of farm assurance schemes especially if you have changed your milk buyer recently. Below is a list of items, which the auditors seem keener on than in previous inspections. Detailed health plan. This includes product information and also summaries of individual diseases such as lameness, mastitis and infertility. Treatment records must show dates of end of treatment as well as withdrawal periods. Other areas that need to be updated are youngstock health plans, casualty and downer cows, broken needle policy and the worming of cats and dogs. Nutrition plan for all categories of stock including youngstock. Home mixers need to check they comply with the increasing emphasis on a detailed feed record showing mixing dates, inclusion levels and traceability of raw materials. Home mixers who include minerals in the mix should be registered with the local Trading Standards. We believe that minerals fed 'free access' are exempt from this requirement. Obviously anyone buying a blend can rely on GP Feeds UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme) registration to comply with the requirements. At present, there is no requirement to use a qualified nutritionist for feed plans. This does not make a lot of sense, as you agronomist needs to be qualified. GP Feeds has qualified nutritionists experienced in the production of detailed feed plans meeting the NDFAS (National Dairy Farm Assurance Scheme) requirements. Waste managements plans are also required. The NDFAS website (www.ndfas.org.uk) has an example template which is not too difficult. A farm map showing areas of non-application is also useful. Contingency plans used to be a list of essential phone numbers but more detailed procedures are being asked for. Again the NDFAS website gives example questions (but not answers) We know that the prospect of the assessment gets a lot of you down. GP Feeds can help ease some of the hassle by helping to produce feed plans and possibly help with health plans. An example of a feed record sheet will be published on the GP Feeds website (www.gpfeeds.co.uk) in the near future. We at GP Feeds want to help you make the most of your business. A good audit will also help if you wish to change milk buyers in the future.
FARM ASSURANCE - DECEMBER 2005
Many of you will be experiencing a new round of farm assurance schemes especially if you have changed your milk buyer recently. Below is a list of items, which the...
NOVEMBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: THIS MONTH'S TOPICAL TIPS... WINTER FEEDING... WORD TO THE WISE... RATION OF THE MONTH - EXCEL DRY COW ROLLS... MINERALS... Does your current supplier really care about your business, do they inform you of changes to your ration or do they just change it without telling you? Do you know what you are feeding - do you know the inclusion levels by percentages in your feed and minerals? Unless you are dealing with GP Feeds we would say the answer is no. Mr Farmer, we challenge you: For the first 5 dairy farmer to ring us and once you have had a consultation with one of our nutritionists, if we do not improve your business within 1 month (if we are more expensive than your current supplier) we will refund the difference. Although we won't be looking for any remuneration from you when we do improve your business. We lay down the gauntlet - do you want to pick it up? From recent results silage are so indifferent, Maize is low in protein, some Wholecrop is low in starch, which is not actually the case when fed. We have seen Grass silage vary from 10 - 14% protein from within the same clamp. To get the best returns from you modern dairy cow your diet has to be balanced correctly, some suppliers say they can do it - WE CAN AND HAVE PROVEN WE CAN with our Products, Staff and knowledge to get the maximum returns for you. DRY COW RATION FAULTS: Trying to slim dry cows in the dry period Low quality forage Poor cow comfort 'Roughing' it approach Low vitamin and minerals Mouldy feeds One dry group Wrong diet formulation The use of milking cow minerals in a dry Cow diet How did you score? WHAT TO AIM FOR: Two groups of dry cows with the far off dry cows fed at least a minimum of a high specification mineral tub and some starchy forage as well as ad-lib straw. All cows and heifers to have at least 21 days on a transition diet. Cows should have a body condition score of between 2.5 to 3.0. Thinner cows should be on a transition diet for longer. Diets should contain similar forages to those fed post calving and either blend or EXCEL DRY COW ROLLS. A high specification mineral should be fed. Our EXCEL DRY COW MINERAL covers all your mineral and vitamin requirements. This transition diet should be formulated by a competent nutritionist to check it meets the modern cows requirement. Remember comfort is paramount. Would you let a pregnant woman sleep on a concrete floor? Pay attention to these cows and mastitis, lameness and infertility will be reduced. Pay back is 2ppl! CHRISTMAS ORDERS Although we don't want to wish time away! We must remind you that Christmas orders will need to be in by TUESDAY 6TH DECEMBER TO GUARANTEE DELIVERIES OVER CHRISTMAS AND UP TO FRIDAY 6TH JANUARY 2006. Obviously we will be in touch with each of you to discuss your requirement before that date. MINERALS Minerals don't always get the attention they deserve. Yet they are something that affects all farmers and their stock. We are increasingly being asked to advise about vitamin and mineral inclusion rates and we are finding that some diets offered by many feed Companies, are incorrectly balanced for vitamins and minerals. Here are a few questions for you to consider: Does your current diet supplier supply adequate vitamins and minerals for the modern high yielding dairy cow? Do you include additional minerals in blends fed to dairy cows? What are the adequate vitamin and mineral levels? Does your present mineral meet all the cow's requirements? Over the last few years it has become more important to feed adequate minerals and vitamins because: The increase in the use of blends means that the mineral and vitamins in concentrate cannot deliver the cows requirement. Higher milk yield mean higher mineral and vitamins are required. A wider range of home grown feeds being used could be short of minerals of have a detrimental effect (e.g. selenium and copper) A dramatic decline in cow fertility. Increasing evidence of the role or minerals and vitamins in animal health. GP FEEDS HAS A RANGE OF PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AND WILL BE PLEASED TO ADVISE. We specialise in making a customised minerals, to complement what you are feeding to your stock already. Our agents will look at what is currently going into your feeds and what your individual herds requirement are, then we can then formulate a unique Mineral / Vitamin package just for your farm. BLENDS New for this winter, we have produced two new protein blends, a 24% and a 26%. Both of these blends will complement Maize and Wholecrop silages. They are very competitively priced for the winter, but we only have limited tonnages available. Please ring the office on 01948 661602 or your sales agent for further details. Winter blend 24% 3.5% Oil24% Protein8.5% Fibre5.3% Ash13.3 ME Mj/kg Some of the raw materials in the ration are: Brazilian Soya is the highest inclusion at 16%, (not in descending order) Rapemeal, Sugarbeet, Supagold Biscuitmeal and Wheat Winter blend 26% 3.5% Oil26% Protein8.6% Fibre5.2% Ash13.3 ME Mj/kg Some of the raw materials in the ration are: Brazilian Soya is the highest inclusion at 20%, (not in descending order) Rapemeal, Sugarbeet, Processed B Maize and Citrus. QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR QUALITY PRODUCTION
NOVEMBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: THIS MONTH'S TOPICAL TIPS... WINTER FEEDING... WORD TO THE WISE... RATION OF THE MONTH - EXCEL DRY COW ROLLS... MINERALS... Does your current supplier really care...
TOPICAL TIPS FOR NOVEMBER 05
1. Far off Dry Cows This does not mean out of sight! Don't keep these cows out unless a long way off calving. Provide minerals and vitamins and some form of starch in the diet. 2. Close up Dry Cows Get onto winter diets containing forages such as Maize and Wholecrop. Use EXCEL DRY COW ROLLS or EXCEL DRY COW MINERALS. Does your dry cow product provide 1000 iu Vit E per day? - Ours does! 3. Autumn Calvers Damage is being done to autumn calvers having been kept out on lush grass too long. When these cows are housed their performance has been disappointing. Monitoring intakes shows that they are eating 2kg DM per day less than they should be. 4. Housing Have adequate housing. If cubicle space is short, cows will cut down their eating time to ensure they get sufficient rest, i.e. 12 - 14 hours per day rest time is needed for high yielders, 2 litres per day can be lost if cows don't have sufficient rest. 5. Maize Silage Maize silages have again been chopped too short by some contractors. Put a handful in a water trough and see how much is floating after 30 seconds. That left floating is the effective rumen fibre (that left at the bottom of the trough is not being used effectively). Early indications are that maize is low in protein this year so check out the diet for balanced protein. Give the office a ring if you want to have your diet checked out. 6. Feet Keep on top of feet problems, you don't notice lame cows when out at grass. Have a look at locomotion scores (how she walks) and foot shape. Foot bathing is helpful to reduce the risk of digital dermatitis. Copper Sulphate and formulin are a good choice at this time. 7. Vitamins and Minerals Check out vitamins and mineral requirements to complement your forages and base mix. Does your milking cow mineral contain over 3,500 iu Vit E per kg? If not give us a ring, because ours does! 8. Quota Go for it. There is very unlikely to be any problems with quota this year and milk price is over 20ppl on some seasonality contracts. Milk to concentrate price ratio is still very good at about 1.55:1 when it used to be only 1:1. Perhaps this is not the year to worry too much about milk from forage. If an extra 0.55kg concentrate will give you another litre of milk worth 20p, it is good business. However, the diet must be balanced for energy, protein and cudding so give us a chance to check it out.
TOPICAL TIPS FOR NOVEMBER 05
1. Far off Dry Cows This does not mean out of sight! Don't keep these cows out unless a long way off calving. Provide minerals and vitamins and some form...
OCTOBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: IF YOU WANT BETTER FERTILITY WE RECOMMEND - OMEGAGOLD... IF YOU WANT MORE BUTTERFAT WE RECOMMEND - CS PLUS... GOLDSTAR 98... CHECK YOUR DECLARATION TICKETS 'Here we go again', we hear you say, harping on about what's in your ration. Those of you not buying your feeds from us BEWARE this winter, because rising fuel and energy costs are leading the feed industry into passing on the extra production cost onto you, 'the farmer'. Some compounders prices have already gone up TWICE, once in August and again in September, and we have heard that they will rise again in October by another £6 per tonne. We however, are only going up between £3 and £5 per tonne depending on the ration, as always these are FIXED PRICES until April 2006 with the GP Feeds guarantee of a FIXED FORMULATION. We have already seen other companies down-grading formulations and playing with your rations, using inferior raw materials just to cheapen rations to gain extra profits for themselves and not you. So what have you the customer got this year? Better silage than last year An opportunity to produce as much milk as you can (no quota restraints) And what do certain feed suppliers do? They sell you RUBBISH. We understand the constraints on our Industry, especially with milk prices where they are today, but this year you have a brilliant opportunity to maximise your profits. Have a look at your declaration tickets, and if you find any of the following within the top 5 ingredients you should be talking to us MALT CULMS WHEATFEED PALM KERNAL OATFEED / OAT BY- PRODUCTS CONFECTIONARY WASTE Filler & low grade materials that we don't use in our compounds... This should ring alarm bells, because these ingredients cannot form a production ration for the modern dairy cow, unless you have that new dairy breed called 'beef'. The widely recognised bible of raw materials in the feed industry is 'Dr Ewing's Feed Directory', we would like to give you his view on MALT CULMS and its limits to usage (anti-nutritional factors) He says that ' High fibre and moderate energy content restricts usage to ruminant rations. They (malt culms) absorb moisture easily, causing them to swell, which can cause problems in the rumen when fed at high levels'. Yet there are many 'so called' feed companies using MALT CULM as their number ONE or number TWO ingredient in diets that you are unknowingly buying. MALT CULM IS A CHEAP, INFERIOR SOURCE OF PROTEIN, HENCE TO SAY, WE DO NOT USE IT. As previously stated, this is the year we believe, to look closely at what you want to achieve:Whether it be: More milk Better fertility Less feet problems Better overall herd health We have the products and the technical staff to help whatever the situation on your farm. Over the last 7 years, we have made our customers more profit year on year than their previous feed company. HAVE A LOOK AT OUR 5 TOP INGREDIENTS In descending order of %,THESE INGREDIENTS appear in our best selling winter rations: SUPREME 18 NUTS (ALSO AVAILABLE IN 20% & 22%) WHEATMAIZE GLUTENSCOTTISH WHEAT DISTILLERSRAPEMEALSUGARBEET SUPREME HDF 18 NUTS (ALSO AVAILABLE IN 20% AND 22%) WHEATPROCESSED BROKEN MAIZESUGARBEETCITRUSBRAZILIAN SOYA EXCEL 18 NUTS (ALSO AVAILABLE IN 16% AND 20%) SUGARBEETWHEATBRAZILIAN SOYARAPEMEALPROCESSED BROKEN MAIZE DAIRY 10,000 LITRE NUTS SUGARBEETHIPRO SOYAPROCESSED BROKEN MAIZEWHEATSCOTTISH WHEAT DISTILLERS STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS THE ABOVE ARE WHAT WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULD HAVE WITHIN YOUR 5 TOP INCLUSIONS BLENDS New for this winter, we have produced two new protein blends, a 24% and a 26%. Both of these blends will complement Maize and Wholecrop silages. They are very competitively priced for the winter, but we only have limited tonnages available. Please ring the office on 01948 661602 or your sales agent for further details. Winter blend 24% 3.5% Oil24% Protein8.5% Fibre5.3% Ash13.3 ME Mj/kg Some of the raw materials in the ration are: Brazilian Soya is the highest inclusion at 16%, (not in descending order) Rapemeal, Sugarbeet, Supagold Biscuitmeal and Wheat Winter blend 26% 3.5% Oil26% Protein8.6% Fibre5.2% Ash13.3 ME Mj/kg Some of the raw materials in the ration are: Brazilian Soya is the highest inclusion at 20%, (not in descending order) Rapemeal, Sugarbeet, Processed B Maize and Citrus. ROLLED CEREALS As from this month we can supply top quality rolled Wheat and barley for this winter at very competitive prices - phone the office for now for a quote 01948 661602. CHOOSING THE RIGHT FAT FOR THE RIGHT SITUATION * EXCLUSIVE FATS TO GP FEEDS LTD * If you want better fertility: We recommend - Omegagold... The best fat on the market We recommend - Goldstar 98... If you want more butterfat: We recommend - CS Plus... Our aptly named product (which improves condition score) it is a specially formulated fatty acid blend processed with a selected glucose preparation into a free flowing dust-free meal. BENEFITS: Specific fat profile high in c16 to maximize butterfats A high energy content to encourage milk yield Designed to maintain body condition High glucose levels Promotes optimal liver function Highly palatable Free flowing and easy to use Fully traceable TYPICAL ANALYSIS: OIL 50.0%PROTEIN 7.5%FIBRE 4.5%ASH 2.75%ME 27.0 Mj/kg DM CS PLUS is designed for mixing into compound feeds or home mix diets. The recommended usage rate is between 300G per cow per day. However levels can be increased for high performance dairy cows. It is packaged in 25kg bags (1.2T per pallet) for farm delivery. COSTING 0.45 PENCE PER LITRE PER DAY FOR A 30 LITRE COW. Our trial work on farms in cheshire will be available next month and will be collated by an independent nutritionist. AVERAGE 0.3 OF AN INCREASE IN BUTTERFAT Ring the office or your usual agent to order. WET FEEDS If you are short of silage this year, help is at hand we can supply you the following wet feeds: DM Protein Brewers Grains 22/24% 25% Pressed Pulp 25% 9.5% Feedmax 52% 20% Sticky Ale Pudding 48% 22% PROTECT YOUR MAIZE SILAGE WITH DOUBLE ACTION ECOCORN AN ACID AND INOCULANT IN ONE WHY YOU SHOULD BE USING DOUBLE ACTION ECOCORN. In comparative tests on both maize and Wholecrop, DOUBLE ACTION ECOCORN has proved twice as effective as some leading inoculants, doubling the time before heating occurs. In trials with both Wholecrop and maize, DOUBLEACTION ECOCORN has been shown to extend silage stability by up to 10 days. For example: TIME TO START OF HEATING (h) UNTREATED DOUBLEACTION ECOCORN WHEAT 58 192 (+134) BARLEY 50 126 (+76) MAIZE 30 202 (+172) Similar results have been found in extensive on-farm studies across the UK, which have also shown an extended trough life with treated silage. ECOCORN applies a unique combination of 4...
OCTOBER 05 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: IF YOU WANT BETTER FERTILITY WE RECOMMEND - OMEGAGOLD... IF YOU WANT MORE BUTTERFAT WE RECOMMEND - CS PLUS... GOLDSTAR 98... CHECK YOUR DECLARATION TICKETS 'Here...
WINTER FEEDING
Now that herds are getting settled into their winter regime and feeding patterns, perhaps it is time to check that your feeding programme is correct. If your answer is 'YES' to the following ten questions you would appear to have it right. If however your answers are not all 'YES' maybe your feed programme needs some fine tuning. a) Are your freshly calved cows peaking to your expectations? b) Is overall milk production satisfactory? c) Are your cows in good condition or are they losing weight? d) Are they bulling correctly? e) Are the P.D. percentages correct or have you too many not in calf? f) Is milk quality satisfactory? g) Are your cows eating sufficient silage? h) Are you experiencing cow health problems such as milk fever? i) Is the percentage of lame cows too high? j) Are your dry cows calving down as you would wish? If any of these questions are ringing alarm bells in your own farm situation please don't hesitate to ring us. We are confident that with our many years experience in all aspects of cow feeding and nutrition we can work with you to sort out the problem to enable you to get the best financial returns. We have a superb range ofWinter Feedsand guarantee a 'FIXED FORMULATION'
WINTER FEEDING
Now that herds are getting settled into their winter regime and feeding patterns, perhaps it is time to check that your feeding programme is correct. If your answer is 'YES'...