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Case studies

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LAYERS

Why egg producer includes humic acid in layer rations

The latest cycle of hens at Glanalders in Radnorshire produced 14 eggs a bird more than the breed average, worth an additional revenue of £37,300 across the flock of Burford…

FEED AND NUTRITION

How one farm is trialling a regen approach to forage maize

Faced with a reliance on maize but driven by a commitment to regenerative farming principles, Lucy and Rob Noad set out to prove that maize can be grown more sustainably.…

SHEEP

How feeding clover silage cut costs in run-up to lambing

High-quality red and white clover silages have allowed a Powys sheep farm to shave nearly £2 a head from the purchased feed bill of twin-bearing ewes. Concentrate feed was one…

FEED AND NUTRITION

How one dairy is managing forage stocks for weather extremes

Three weather apps and a bespoke spreadsheet are helping to feed cows cost-effectively at Clive Hall Farm – despite more extreme weather patterns affecting forage stocks for this spring block-calving…

SHEEP

How a Romney flock is adapting to frequent droughts

Repeat periods of drought have highlighted the value of selecting resilient forage crops and breeding animals at Dineley Farming, near Shaftesbury, Dorset. Perin Dineley says the business, which is home…

LIVESTOCK

Costs stack up for primed seed, fodder beet trial shows

A fodder beet crop established at a Welsh livestock farm with primed seed and a late-season application of nitrogen fertiliser yielded 40% more forage than standard seed and two applications.…

Practical advice

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DAIRY

Advice on balancing fibre and concentrates in dairy diets

Dairy farmers who capitalise on a positive milk-to-feed-price ratio by upping concentrates in herd diets risk triggering acidosis and other metabolic issues if they fail to consider fibre. Although milk…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

6 tips on producing grass silage at optimal dry matter

Good-quality grass silage is the foundation of the winter ration for livestock, and throughout the year for housed systems. A key metric for achieving the best intakes and performance from…

SHEEP

Advice on feeding a home-mixed ration to pregnant ewes

Sheep farmers are often cautious about adopting total mixed ration feeding, in the belief that a manufactured compound is best suited to ewe intakes in late pregnancy. See also: Advice on…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Advice on forage intakes for pregnant ewes

With lambing time approaching for many, we have started to see a few cases of twin lamb disease in early lambers. This has prompted a more in-depth review of nutrition…

BEEF

How to make sure suckler cows produce top-quality colostrum

Ensuring suckler cows have at least 14% crude protein in their diet before calving will help antibody production and improve colostrum quality. But the drought in 2025 means that forage…

DAIRY

Advice on dry cow shed management for high yielders

The high-yielding cow faces immense metabolic challenges. Transition diseases such as milk fever, ketosis, and displaced abomasum cases remain costly threats, and poor fertility results in inefficiency. The transition period…

Insights

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DAIRY

Are transition cows getting enough metabolisable protein?

Dairy producers could be limiting early lactation performance by underfeeding metabolisable protein, as well as the amino acids methionine and lysine, to transition cows. Prof Jim Drackley of the University…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Forage maize yield more than double under film, trial shows

The impact on a farm’s cost of production from more than doubling forage maize yield, from 7t dry matter/ha to 18t, is significant. This yield benefit was seen when the…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Why poor water management limits dairy herd potential

How much water can a lactating dairy cow drink if she has access to ad-lib, fresh, clean and palatable water? The answer is unknown on many dairy farms, because of…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Foliar feed boosts forage maize in drought, farm trial shows

Using foliar feeds on maize challenged by soil nutrient deficiencies and drought increased yield by 36t/ha on a Welsh livestock farm. Nigel Bowyer and his family grow 8ha (20 acres)…

SHEEP

Why there's still time to target ewe condition before tupping

Lean ewes that were body condition scored post-weaning and moved onto a better diet should now be gaining weight steadily before tupping to reach a target body condition score of…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Benefits of following maize with Westerwolds ryegrass

Including freshly cut Westerwolds ryegrass in the ration during housing is increasing daily milk yield by 2 litres a cow in a Ceredigion dairy herd and capturing significant cost savings…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Is insect oil an alternative fat source for calf milk replacer?

Using oil derived from black soldier flies as the fat source in calf milk powder could offer a more sustainable solution to current alternatives – without compromising on youngstock performance.…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Why milk fat composition in calf milk replacer matters

Optimising fat composition in calf milk replacer to focus on short-chain fatty acids could unlock better growth, stronger gut health and enhanced disease resilience, according to new research. Speaking at…

BROILERS

Benefits of increasing water oxygen content for broilers

Technology to intensify water’s dissolved oxygen content has been shown to reduce mortality and improve performance in broiler systems. A Ross 308 broiler trial, which involved 840 birds, showed 37.3%…

BEEF

How roasting beans for beef rations improved liveweight gain

Feeding roasted beans increased average daily liveweight gain by 0.15kg, when compared with using unroasted ones, in rations for young bulls on a mixed farm in South Yorkshire. In addition,…

LIVESTOCK

Egg producer's verdict on best alternative protein for layers

From manure to processing, emissions from egg production can be tricky to manage. But replacing some, or all, of the soya in a standard flock’s diet with other proteins is…

DAIRY

Why efficiency is the route to dairy farm sustainability

Every time dairy farmers think about sustainability, they should be thinking instead about efficiency. This was the conclusion of a roundtable of farmers, independent experts and industry representatives who gathered…

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