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APRIL 2005 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: SILAGE ADDITIVES... DRY COW MANAGEMENT... MYCOTOXINS... HOW WE CAN HELP YOU... SPRING / SUMMER FEEDING Springtime is here again, a time when a natural instinct may be to say "bye-bye" to your feed merchant for a few months and produce all your milk from grass. This of course will be fine for a week or two but the repercussions could be catastrophic! Fresh spring grass can only produce 25 litres of milk, at best and the balance of each cows' production will come off her reserves unless you feed for it. As a result, a rapid loss of weight, loss of milk, infertility, poor milk quality and loss of income will occur. Of course you can drastically reduce your feed inputs in Spring, but let it be a planned, sensible operation that will help the cow to produce to her maximum, leading to more profit for you. Milk prices are at a consistently low level and spring prices normally take further reductions. If this happens again this year, it will be even more critical that you produce as much milk as economically as possible without putting your cows under needless stress. Feeding silage, as a buffer feed, and perhaps incorporating a blend will produce better milk quality and better cow health. Because of the high protein, high energy and high sugar content of fresh grass, coupled with buffer feeding, a special type of blend or compounded nut is needed to balance it. Spring grass is a wonderful product for producing milk but it is lacking in one aspect, digestible fibre. It is green and nutritious, full of nutrients and very palatable, but it is also full of water and high protein. The result of all this means it passes through the rumen very rapidly, in fact too quickly for all the nutrients to be absorbed and utilised to the full. This progression through the rumen has to be slowed down by the addition into the diet of some form of digestible fibre. By offering either grass silage or maize silage you are well on the way to balancing the problem, but as in winter your cows can only produce a certain amount of milk off a certain amount of forage, the rest has to be supported by an additional digestible form of feed and that of course is where we can help. As we are very aware at GP Feeds, your margins are extremely tight and the need to produce milk from your own resources has never been greater. Where we differ from all other companies is in the area of formulating blends and compounds on a FIXED FORMUALTION basis. Having discussed with each individual customer how to produce milk on his farm in the most economical way, we formulate to his individual requirements and needs. The blend or compounded nut we recommend is then guaranteed to remain constant in all its raw materials, with monitored updates being discussed through the summer with each individual customer, to balance the forage inputs as grass quality declines. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU We have been discussing spring and summer feeding for the last three months within the company and our suppliers. We have used the most up to date technology available, plus the latest thinking from research centres into our range of feeds for the spring. Energy levels of the feed are always a critical factor and we believe that the levels within our range are the highest you can buy within the region. Our range takes account of the declining grass values later in the year as well as the need for digestible fibre in early spring, and we are confident that we have a product to cover every individual dairy farmers' need. As mentioned earlier all the products have a FIXED FORMULATION (fixed percentage inclusion of raw materials) along with a FIXED PRICE for the period. All our nutritionists are equipped with the necessary resources to help you produce milk efficiently so please give us a ring if you feel we can help you on 01948 661602 or your usual agent. Some of the areas that have been developed are: GP Feeds were the first to develop the approach of using lower crude protein diets for high yielding cows. Remember the dreaded Atkins diet? We have customised blends that properly balance grass silage, maize silage and whole crop wheat. Our beef diets are based on proven formulations delivering top performance. GP Feeds dry cows rolls contain high quality ingredients and our mineral packages are designed to meet the requirements of the modern dairy cow. We have 'off the shelf' minerals that do what they say on the bag, i.e., deliver the quantities of minerals required. We make individual mineral formulation for specific problems. We have been formulating compounds to meet the cows needs using selected raw materials only. This has lead to the introduction of 16% crude protein diets in the summer and the industry standard Excel 18. GP Feeds supply dry cow tubs that actually contain the required levels of minerals. We endeavour to provide increased levels of technical support to help our customers improve performance, reduce health problems and help profitability. GP Feeds the leading feed Company, helping you to achieve. STOP PRESS John Eardley, a GP Feeds blend customer from Market Drayton has just won champion cow in the Western Holstein show with 'Primo Integrity Jenny'. Congratulations to John and his family for all the hard work they have put in. QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR QUALITY PRODUCTION WE FORMULATE OUR OWN RANGE OF DAIRY, CALF, BEEF AND SHEEP COMPOUNDS WHICH ARE BASED ON A FIXED FORMULATION AND FIXED PRICE. THESE ARE FORMULATED TO STRICT NUTRITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS. WE ALSO SUPPLY BLENDS MADE TO YOUR OWN SPECIFICATION(S) WHICH SUIT OUT OF PARLOUR FEEDING AND CAN BE MADE TO MATCH DIFFERENT FORAGES AS YOU GO THROUGH THE FEEDING YEAR. DON'T FORGET THAT WE ALSO SUPPLY MINERALS! PLEASE RING : 01948 661602 WE WILL BE VERY PLEASED TO HELP.
APRIL 2005 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: SILAGE ADDITIVES... DRY COW MANAGEMENT... MYCOTOXINS... HOW WE CAN HELP YOU... SPRING / SUMMER FEEDING Springtime is here again, a time when a natural instinct may...
MARCH 2005 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: GRASS STAGGERS... MAGNESIUM PRODUCTS PRICES & INFORMATION... UREA LEVELS IN MILK... COUNTING THE COST OF BUYING CHEAP... ACCESS TO FARMS... IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY... CELIPLUS... BLENDS Following last months newsletter we again would recommend to you that decisions should be made now with regard to blends for the spring and summer. We feel that the opportunity is paramount to secure a good deal because the majority of ingredients are showing reductions in price. As most of you are aware we will offer you a fixed price and fixed formulation guarantee for the whole of the period from April to September. The prices will be based either on a blend that we would recommend or alternatively one that suits your own individual needs and you feel comfortable with. To obtain a realistic and keen price coupled with our guarantee of a FIXED FORMULATION (something we feel is of the utmost importance) please ring the office or your usual agent who will only be too pleased to assist you. We have a 'blend calculator' on our website if you would like to put your blend in, to see what we can do. UREA LEVELS IN MILK Adding AMINO PRO-TEK to the diet is also another way of maintaining and improving yields in the spring. It works in the rumen and enables better use to be made of the protein in the home grown forages, especially in high protein spring grass. Apart from increases in milk yield we have also seen reduced urea levels in the milk and improved fertility. It is a sugar complex that utilises the excess protein in the rumen to the cows advantage rather than it being passed through without the full advantage and benefit being taken from the spring grass. For a small outlay of 8p per day you can expect increases in milk yield by up to 3 litres per cow per day, equating to 60p per cow per day (not a bad increase of 52p per cow per day!). If your milk quality slip shows urea levels of over 0.040 the inclusion of Amino Pro-Tek in the diet almost guarantees a reduction which means better utilisation of the total intake leading to better yields. COUNTING THE COST OF BUYING CHEAP To get the best from your animals GP Feeds believe that: They should be fed quality ingredients No fillers The correct level of vitamins and minerals A fixed formulation A balanced nutritious diet Palatable feed When fed correctly, your animals will be more profitable to your business and increase your turnover. GP Feeds believe that this is the only way to feed animals. Too many feed companies are supplying poor diets, lacking in the essential vitamins and minerals to sustain healthy animals. Feeds are often full of fillers that will fill an animal up, but don't provide the nutrition that is vital for health, fertility and growth. This feed may be cheap to buy and make your accounts look good in the short term, but in the long term this will be detrimental to your business and you will be seeing more of your vet, less on your milk cheque and an increase in your cull figures. As the old saying goes: ' Buy cheap, buy twice'. There is another way and although you may be spending slightly more money on your GP Feed, the bigger picture will show an increase in profits due to the improved health of your animals. Why not ring GP Feeds and we will be very pleased to discuss our approach to feeding your animals with you. Please ring the office on 01948 661602. ACCESS TO FARMS An article in the National press a few weeks ago confirmed what many of we country folk have known for a long time, that children living in towns and cities across the UK often have no idea where the bulk of the feed they eat originated. A group of children from the Runcorn area visited an outdoor education centre in the middle of the Cheshire countryside and were amazed and shocked that cows produced milk and ate grass! They also mistook cows for buffalos and pheasant for peacocks! This ignorance of the basic facts of life was also borne out when BSE first reared its ugly head and the banning of calf exports lead to male Holstein / Friesian type calves being slaughtered. At that time the question was asked by many people as to why a cow had to have a calf anyhow? Having said that, what we want to know is - who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?" Joking apart, doesn't it make you think there must be something lacking in the British education system and perhaps British agriculture, particularly the mouth pieces of the dairy industry, should do something to redress the balance. Maybe the likes of ourselves should be helping to educate these people more? We would welcome any of you comments on this topic either by phone (01948 661602, fax (01948 871776) or e-mail (admin@gpfeeds.co.uk). IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 15th April Earliest date to apply non-selective herbicides to set aside land. DEFRA have confirmed that land has been claimed as set aside at anytime in the last 5 years is considered "arable land" and not permanent pasture, even where the cover was grass. All agricultural land, with the exception of only permanent pasture, woodland and land in non agricultural use must be included in the set aside calculation. IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 15th April Earliest date to apply non-selective herbicides to set aside land. DEFRA have confirmed that land has been claimed as set aside at anytime in the last 5 years is considered "arable land" and not permanent pasture, even where the cover was grass. All agricultural land, with the exception of only permanent pasture, woodland and land in non agricultural use must be included in the set aside calculation. 30th April Final date at which 10 month occupancy period can begin for land on which you are claiming Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2005. 16th May Closing date for SPS applications in 2005. 1st July Earliest date to cultivate set aside land to control weeds. 15th July Earliest date to sow crops for 2006 harvest. 15th July - 15th August Compulsory cut of set aside land (cuttings must be left on the ground). 31st August End of set aside period. 1st September - 14th January 2006 You may graze livestock or take hay / silage for own use from 2005 set aside land. 1st February - 30th June 2006 Payment window for 2005 SPS. SPECIAL NOTICE New waste disposal regulation from June 2005 bans the burning or burying...
MARCH 2005 NEWSLETTER
This months linked article's: GRASS STAGGERS... MAGNESIUM PRODUCTS PRICES & INFORMATION... UREA LEVELS IN MILK... COUNTING THE COST OF BUYING CHEAP... ACCESS TO FARMS... IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY... CELIPLUS......
STRESS AND THE DAIRY COW
Dairy cows suffer from stress! Peak times of stress are at calving and drying off although poor diets can cause stress anytime especially in cows at peak yields. 75% of an animal's immunity is derived from its digestive tract. Stress is known to reduce the immune function of neutrophiles (these are cells that engulf and digest invading pathogens in the udder for example). If this stress corresponds with a decline in the immune system associated with calving, the animal is more susceptible to disease. The immune system depends on proper nutrition. Key nutrients in helping to improve the immune system are antioxidants such as, Vitamin E and selenium. Other nutrients strengthening the immune system are cobalt, copper and Vitamin A. Recent research has shown that after calving, cleansings are often retained if the cow has a poor immune system, linked to a shortage of Vitamin E or Selenium. After calving, a healthy cow will recognise the cleansing as a foreign body and expel it. If the immune system is impaired the cleansing is often retained, thus resulting in a 'dirty cow'. GP FEEDS have been making use of this type of information over the last two years and have developed products specifically to enhance immunity in the dry cow: For example EXCEL DRY COW ROLLS, provide 100,000 iu of Vitamin A per day compared to 40,000 iu in many competitors products. Diets post calving also need adequate supplementation. Our diet approach has reduced the stress levels in many of our clients' herds as well as improving mineral and vitamin supplementation. This has helped to reduce mastitis, lameness and improved fertility in many client herds. Cows work very hard for us and we owe it to them to give them every chance to resist disease and live long productive lives. Ring GP Feeds and talk to us about how we can improve your cows' health.
STRESS AND THE DAIRY COW
Dairy cows suffer from stress! Peak times of stress are at calving and drying off although poor diets can cause stress anytime especially in cows at peak yields. 75% of...
BEEF BULLETIN
With changes to the OTM (over thirty months) scheme anticipated during August of this year and the introduction of some rather complicated issues with the Single Farm Payment, the future direction for UK beef production is, like other aspects of our industry, uncertain to say the least. As a consequence, the efficient rearing and finishing of the beef herd, irrespective of your system, will once again come under the economic microscope.Some simple suggestions and "rules of thumb" will help in getting the best out of your system. You should be considering: Increase feed conversion efficiency Reduce digestive disorders - particularly on intensive systems. Increase daily live weight gain. Reduce days to slaughter Cattle on intensive cereal beef finishing will benefit from "ad lib" access to clean straw, which will supply some fibrous structure to the diet. This should help limit any health problems by increasing saliva production and removing dead cells from the stomach wall, so acids are absorbed more quickly. The addition of "Yea-sacc" yeast supplement will improve feed utilisation by reducing ruminal and intestinal gasses and increase daily live weight gain - trials show 8-9% increase! Please ring the office for further information. If adding a protein nut or pellet to your ration, ensure that it is made of quality protein sources. If a large percentage of the protein is urea and formulated to least cost, are you getting value for money? The GP Feeds "Byley Grain Balancer 38" nut, a 38% protein nut with only 1.25% urea, contains Brazilian Soya, Rapemeal, Sunflower and is fully mineralised. This product is excellent value for money and also available as a blend. Suckler cows at grass will be highly susceptible to grass staggers as young, lush grass starts to grow, but cold, wet weather is still all too common. Look to feed a high magnesium mineral (up to 20%) to reduce the risk After last year's difficult silage-making season, many silages have mineral imbalances, especially for the last few months of pregnancy. This can result in difficult calvings, weak calves, retained cleansings retained placenta and a reduced level of fertility in the herd. To counteract dietary imbalances it is essential that spring calving suckler cows are not only in the right body condition at calving (condition score 3.0) but are also fed a good quality pre-calving mineral. Mineral supplementation can be given in several ways - "Excel Pre-Calver Rolls", free access minerals, in-feed minerals or bucket licks. Vitalick Pre Calver Buckets. With home mixed rations that comprise high levels of maize gluten and/or maize distillers, it is imperative that a quality mineral and vitamin supplement, that is high in calcium, should be added to these rations. Check inclusion levels and feeding rates/allowances of your minerals. A custom beef blend formulated to your requirements and to suit your system is an excellent alternative to "off the shelf" products as an aid to keeping costs under control. These can be mineralised and can have a whole range of "add-ons" like Yea-sacc added at source for increased efficiency. Feeding quality, well balanced diets and supplements will go along way to ensuring you get as much margin as possible come market day.
BEEF BULLETIN
With changes to the OTM (over thirty months) scheme anticipated during August of this year and the introduction of some rather complicated issues with the Single Farm Payment, the future...
FEED THE RUMEN AND MILK THE COW
We have recently judged the Herefordshire Grassland Society silage competition. He then gave a presentation to the group of farmers present and we feel that the points made in his presentation maybe of interest to you. Shown below are some example forage analysis: Maize Silage Grass Silage A Grass Silage B Dry Matter % 27 22 37.4 Crude Protein % 7.2 15.5 13.5 ME mj/kg 11.0 11.6 11.7 PH 3.8 3.7 4.2 VFAS g/kg 30 40 10 Lactic Acid g/kg 140 131 47 Rumen Stability Value 295 260 357 FiM PAL 1076 1023 601 Over the last few years, plant breeders have developed 'stay green' varieties of maize. The cobs dry out sooner and the crop is harvested whilst the leaves are green. However, this leads to problems in the cow's rumen. The maize analysis, shown above is fairly typical of these on farms this winter. Maize used to be a 'buffer' to wet grass silage. This is no longer the case. The pH of the maize is 3.8 and it contains 140 gms of lactic acid- which is 14%. If this is fed with Grass Silage A, the total level of lactic acid fed is almost 14% of 13kg of forage intake, almost 2kg of lactic acid, (remember lactic acid is what drives down the Ph in clamp silages and has the same effect in the rumen). SARA (Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis) is very likely to result with all the consequential problems of loose dung, lameness, poor performance and fertility. Remember that 1 point on the pH scale e.g. 4.5 to 3.5 represents a 10x increase in acidity. Silage A also represents a silage that has continued to ferment, (many of you will recognise the effects of a "popular silage additive" on silage pH and lactic acid content) Silage B is a much better product to use with the maize silage. This has a much reduced lactic acid, but may not be stable, especially when fed in the spring or summer. We need to make this type of silage to counteract the maize silage acidity. This needs an effective additive to produce stability. Ecosyl has the most trial work and always does well in comparisons such as Kingshay. A lot of farmers are at the mercy of their buying group and often find that the choice of silage additive has been made for them, because of price and a 'deal for the group'. The unfortunate thing is that, the choice of silage additive has a profound effect on what is then fed to the animals for a whole season! Double Action Ecosyl contains an innoculant and a preservative to improve the stability of higher dry matter silage like silage B. Silage analyses also now show rumen stability values RSV. This RSV value is derived from the Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) in the forage and the Potential Acid Load (PAL) PAL is a measure of the potential acid load in the rumen with high lactic acid forages having higher values. Diets with high PAL content will have a low RSV. RSV of less than 300 can lead to an increase risk of SARA (Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis). The silage analyses are only part of the story. No account is taken of : Chop length of forages Over mixing in the FEEDER WAGON Feed sorting Inadequate feed space per cow or poor feed availability or access Diet balance using blends containing slower release starches such as PB maize. Palatability of forages/ diet mix. We understand that all the above may seem very complex. However, these factors may well be crucial in the profitability of your herd. We at GP Feeds have the expertise to use the above information to balance diets and help plan forages for next winter that reduce that risk of SARA. We provide custom blends and the compounds are formulated to reduce the risk of SARA ( Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis).
FEED THE RUMEN AND MILK THE COW
We have recently judged the Herefordshire Grassland Society silage competition. He then gave a presentation to the group of farmers present and we feel that the points made in his...
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL - PART 1, DAIRY FARMING
Much has been written about the prospects for dairy farming in the future and we have seen considerable numbers of larger units leaving the Dairy Industry in the last year. The following paragraphs will discuss the more positive aspects of dairying. Changes to the CAP and the singe farm payment. The changes to intervention price are quoted as being equivalent to 4ppl. At present most prices are similar or slightly lower than last year. An English farmer with 1 million litres of quota will receive almost £27000 in 2006 and almost £26000 in 2007. Despite the publicity these are similar to a Welsh dairy farmer. Many commentators are suggesting that this income should not be included in the farm income as it is decoupled. However it is viewed, this represents income coming in to the farmer, whether it is used to reduce borrowings or finance development. Quota is becoming much less of a constraint. Last January saw purchase prices over 30 pence per Litre. Current prices are 12ppl and after SFP (Single Farm Payment), have a net cost of 5ppl. This equates to an overall financial repayment of 1.25ppl for five years. The gamblers amongst you may not even bother to get additional quota and still increase output. Concentrate prices are likely to continue to fall. Soya reached over £210 per tonne last January and forward prices for summer and next winter are closer to £127/ tonne x store. The Forward price for wheat in September is £74/ tonne. Very little is heard of the milk: concentrate price ratio these days. For many years it was 1:1. Today 1 litre of milk will buy 1.5Kg of quality compound feed. Forage quality and forage stocks are high on farms with surplus left at the end of the year. First cut silages this year have not delivered the promise they showed when harvested in perfect conditions mid - May. The OTMS (over thirty months scheme) is scheduled to change in mid summer. This may lead to an improvement in cull prices, especially for larger dairy cows. The effect on the beef calf market is difficult to judge and dairy bulls have dropped back to a low value. This year compared to last has shown an improvement in cow health especially fertility. Maybe it's just a coincidence that most of the farms that we see are clients of GP Feeds. You may have read David Beever in British Dairying suggesting that cow diets should be lower in crude proteins. You heard it here first. Remember the Atkins Diet slogan? Butterfats have also recovered and some GP Feeds clients are maximising their payments by making use of extra payments for butterfats. Butterfats over 4% are becoming more common with the 'white water' producer with fats at 3.6% looking to improve those levels. Even allowing for the changes to the CAP, World market prices for cheese and SMP (skimmed milk price) are high with commodities in short supply. The USA dairy farmer has been receiving prices close to 22ppl, which is almost double historic prices. It is very hard to accept price cuts by the dairy companies as justified given the present situation regarding world milk production. When we look at costings on farms we see price differences of over 4ppl for milk of similar quality and profile. Producers receiving close to 22ppl are making a reasonable if not acceptable return. Producers receiving less than 18ppl cannot make up this 4ppl even if they have exceptional technical efficiency. We now have two large farmer owned dairy co-ops with links to processing facilities. Lets hope that they are able to increase the value of the milk sent by their members. Will milk get in short supply? As mentioned earlier, there have been a lot of herds giving up production and more will go out later next year. Professor Coleman is due to publish a report about the future. His previous report suggested milk would have to fall to less than 14ppl after quota costs, before production suffered. The SFP and a lack of confidence in the industry would suggest that 18ppl is nearer the mark. Many farmers tell us it is a good thing that we are well below quota this year and are not interested in getting the last drop from their cows. We are aware that in parts of the county, local dairies are worried about the future milk supply. The liquid market is about 60% in this country and this is still the product that commands top prices. If 10-15% less milk was produced, especially outside the spring flush, then we believe this would increase prices by 2-3 ppl. In summary, there is some good news and prospects in the dairy industry. Expansion will be easier with extra quota and land more readily available. However, the margins will be higher and the management of health and nutrition needs to be first class. GP Feeds will continue to provide quality feeds and fixed formulations to assist the farmers wishing to push ahead and benefit from higher returns and healthier animals. To make decent returns in the future, the farm business must develop a successful working relationship between themselves, a competent nutritionist and their vet.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL - PART 1, DAIRY FARMING
Much has been written about the prospects for dairy farming in the future and we have seen considerable numbers of larger units leaving the Dairy Industry in the last year....