Lamb supplement boosts profit by £7.50 a head

Providing supplementary feed to growing and finishing lambs increases grazing use and boosts margin a head by £7.50.

Trials involving 120 Texel cross lambs at Myerscough College saw those on a supplement increase daily liveweight gain by 33%, compared with those at grass alone. Growth rose to 160g a head a day, over the six-week trial, while the control group averaged 120g.

According to Scotmin Nutrition’s technical director Ian Henderson, Megastart Ewe and Lamb supplement provides extra energy allowing lambs to make better use of grazing.

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He said more than 10% of lambs fed the supplement reached the target finishing weight of 42kg within six weeks after consuming about 70g a head a day.

“Allowing for the greater proportion of lambs reaching the target weight and the increased daily liveweight gain, and after deducting the cost of the supplement, we calculate that the supplemented lambs made an average extra margin of £7.50 a head.”