YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WIN A KLASSIK 100 WORTH £21,000
YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WIN A KLASSIK 100 WORTH £21,000
Welcome to the last week of the
farmers weekly/Keenan competition
to win a Keenan Klassik mixer
wagon worth £21,000.
Just read the text, answer the
question and look out for
the coupon in the
July 26 issue
PEDIGREE Aberdeen-Angus breeders, Alex and Wendy Sanger, who farm near Montrose, are currently enjoying a premium of 20-25p/kg dw over Scottish price. A recent kill for 10 steers, aged 18-20 months, showed all either R4H or R4L, with the vast majority weighing over 300kg dressed.
* Uniformity of finish on TMR fed cattle
A good result, but the Sangers cattle did not always achieve such consistent grading. Initially, the herd consisted of bought-in females of various shapes, sizes and types from numerous herds.
On a visit to an Australian feedlot, Mr Sanger was impressed by the uniformity of finish on the cattle, despite their cows producing a progeny similar to his own.
"I learned that this was due to a Total Mixed Ration Diet", he says.
As a result, a Keenan Mixer Wagon was bought which is now used to feed all his cattle. Since then, the lwg in the growing cattle has increased from 0.6kg/day to 0.9kg/day, while feed costs have dropped from 80p/day to 45p/day.
* Improved feedconversion rates
"The early rewards of the new diet were improved feed conversion rates and better growth," explains Mr Sanger. "The Aberdeen-Angus, particularly heifers, can develop patchy fat early on but the incorporation of straw into the ration has helped us to achieve more growth and frame at the expense of fat in our young cattle."
nBetter usage of home-grown feeds
Before changing to the Keenan System, the cattle finishing diet had been bunker-fed silage and trough-fed beef blend. The silage made the cattle so loose that the hard feed was passing out only partially digested. The Keenan System presents the ability to incorporate straw into the ration.
This slows down the rate of passage through the animal, making better usage of home-grown feeds – shortening the final finishing period considerably. Average daily lwg has gone up by 45%, with feed cost/kg gain coming down by 27%.
For Mr Sanger, the main plus has been the improvement in his cattles conformation grade, with the majority now grading Rs, with an improvement in the number of Us.
"This is due a combination of the TMR diet and an improvement in the type of cattle," he says.
Since purchasing a Keenan, by how much has lwg per day increased in the Sangers growing cattle?
A: 0.1kgs?
B: 0.2kgs?
C: 0.3kgs?
(tick one box)
Keep your answer in a safe place and use it to fill in the coupon that will appear in the July 26 issue of farmers weekly.
1. How is the Keenan Klassik mixer wagon to be won? Read the text on the competition pages in each of the FW issues of June 28, July 5, 12, 19 and 26 and answer the question each week. There will be a coupon in the July 26 issue in which you can write your answers.
2. The winner will receive a Keenan Klassik 100 mixer wagon worth £21,000. No cash alternatives are available.
3. The decision of the competition judges and of the editor of farmers weekly is final. No correspondence can be entered into.
4. The competition is open to all readers of farmers weekly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland other then employees of Keenan or its distributors or of farmers weekly.
5. Closing date for completed entries is Aug 9, 2002. Please send them to Keenan Klassik Competition, farmers weekly, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS.
6. Reed Business Information Ltd may use this information for direct marketing purposes, from ourselves or other companies. If you do not wish to receive direct marketing, visit our data protection web page at www.reedbusiness.co.uk/dataprotection or write to us at RBI, Freepost RCC2619, Haywards Heath, RH16 3BR.