Archive Article: 2000/06/30

30 June 2000

IN BRIEF

&#8226 HIGH yielding cows must be fed adequate oil to maintain butterfat levels at grass, according to nutrition company UFAC (UK). It adds that a compound today typically contains 4.5% oil and grass is only 7% fat, so a 45 litre cow may not receive enough oil from these ingredients and what she can mobilise from body fat. Fat sources fed should be in both rumen protected and slow release forms, advises the company.

&#8226 CONSIDER supplying trace minerals to dairy cows in water over the grazing period to secure milk hygiene bonuses and cow performance, says C&H Nutritions Alan Reeve. Failure to supply minerals in the summer months could be a false economy, he adds. "Grass is a poor source of trace minerals."

&#8226 MLC has published a new illustrated guide to sheep diseases and dealing with them, Sheep Health Matters – edition two. It is free to sheep farmers from Lindsay Tapp (01908-844173).

&#8226 BOARS which produce slaughter pigs with bigger and better loins could soon be available from Newsham Hybrid Pigs, says the company. CT scanning at the SACs unit in Edinburgh shows that measurements of spine length can be made to select the best loins for manufacturing requirements.

High repeatability for these measurements has been shown in CT scanned sheep, says Newsham. This should prove more accurate than measuring live pigs with conventional scanning equipment.

&#8226 IMPROVING poultry welfare through better vehicle design has netted two scientists RASEs technology award which will be presented at the Royal Show.

Malcolm Mitchell of Roslin Institute and Peter Kettlewell of Silsoe Institute have conducted studies which have led to improvements in vehicle design and transport practices allowing matching of commercial conditions to birds needs.

&#8226 CHEAP stockfeed potatoes, which come onto the market after first cut silage, can be used to feed purchased store cattle at low cost. In Signet Beef and Sheep Notes, SACs Mitch Lewis says that cattle bought at 450-500kg gained 1.6kg a head a day over two months on one farm feeding potatoes ad lib.

Potatoes were fed to cattle with a mix of rapeseed meal, vitamins and minerals.