Animal Feeds

Online animal nutrition questions answered

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:10:20 +0000

Teagasc recently held their first live online questions-and-answers session on animal nutrition, through their corporate Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Nutrition specialist, Dr Siobhan Kavanagh, answered the questions.

Questions were received from dairy, beef and sheep farmers.

nWhat’s the best way to help avoid lazy cows during calving (cows on silage and half a kg of straw, pre-calver minerals)?

Time to consider forward purchase of winter feed

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 11:08:30 +0000

As in previous years I am advising clients that now is the time to look at winter feed budgets. An immediate task is to look at the option of forward purchasing.

While this practice carries some risks due to fluctuating commodity prices, in most cases it can deliver significantly lower winter feed costs while also helping cash flow during the winter feeding season.

The forward buying process is simple. When the quantities of the feed required are determined and price is agreed, a contract is issued to the purchaser – in this case you.

This should outline the amount of product to be delivered, the delivery dates, price and specification of the product. In most instances, the price agreed will be on an ex-port basis, so you need to factor in transport costs. These can vary greatly depending on load size, distance travelled and method of delivery (tipped or blown).

As with any global commodity, livestock feed prices are influenced by supply and demand.

Forward markets trade on expectation of harvest yield, and with successful plantings and positive weather forecasts, prices are quite low. As a buyer you are always trying to buy at the bottom of the market.

However, it is important to consider where we are at compared to this time last year or even five years ago. While waiting for a further prices drop, external factors such as oil price, currencies, investment funds and unforeseeable political developments can drive prices upwards in an instant.

Be clear on greening, livestock farmers warned

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:58:56 +0000

Livestock producers must not assume they are exempt from greening crop diversification and EFA requirements – what qualifies as an “arable” area under the new regime is often misunderstood, warns Alice De Soer, adviser with the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.

Some do not realise the area of fodder crops, such as lucerne, which they rotate around their holdings, is counted as temporary grass and consequently as part of their arable area, she said.

Fodder crops such as forage maize, kale and fodder roots also count as arable for crop diversification purposes. Many claimants will automatically meet the requirements (see “Greening tips”) because of their acreage and/or crop mix, or will qualify for exemptions, but everyone must do that initial calculation of arable area, said Ms De Soer.