YOUR SECOND CHANCE TO WIN A KLASSIK 100 WORTH £21,000
YOUR SECOND CHANCE TO WIN A KLASSIK 100 WORTH £21,000
Welcome to the second 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 Jul 26 issue
ALTHOUGH the Keenan System is widely accepted as being the tool for profitable dairy production, more and more beef producers are seeing the benefits the system can bring to the profitability of their enterprise.
* Yorkshire farmer sees large gains
Switching to the Keenan System has enabled Yorkshire beef producers, Tony and Nicholas Farrer to slash 100 days off the finishing time of their bought-in Continental x Holstein bulls.
Until last year it was taking an average of 500 days to produce 350kg deadweight carcasses, but this year the same target weight was reached in 400 days, producing cost savings and enabling an increase in output.
* Mixing feeds pays off
In the first winter alone since changing to the Keenan System, feed costs savings alone totalled £5000 as a result of reducing ration costs by 20p/day. This, coupled with much faster finishing (typically by three months) has given additional benefits of about £10,000. Cost/kg daily liveweight gain dropped from 75p to 47p.
This improvement in performance has come without big changes to the diet. Silage, potatoes and barley were used previously, but the Farrerss Keenan System specialist advised the soda treatment of barley and peas, which were a new development, as were the use of rapeseed meal, straw and Keenan minerals. Tony Farrer puts these improvements down to the fact that the ration is now mixed in the Keenan Klassik, which is used to mix everything, including all calf rations.
Mixing ration ingredients and forage together prevents animals from selecting feeds and promotes a stable rumen with reduced animal stress and better performance.
* Adding value to farm grown feeds
"We are trying to add more value to the crops we grow by producing beef," says Tony. "This is our plain and simple objective. We are not going to make money by producing large quantities of cereals, particularly as cereal prices are so low. But, if we can make a living by producing beef from these cereals, then that is our way forward to a sustainable future."
The Keenan System maximises the use of wholesome farm-grown feeds and forage, reducing feed costs, improving ration quality and traceability, and ultimately increasing animal performance.
Since changing to the Keenan System, the Farrers have reduced the number of days to slaughter in their beef operation by how many days?
A: 60 days?
B: 80 days?
C: 100 days?
(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.
Top: Keenan Klassik mixer wagon worth £21,000 is the prize. Above: Mixing ration ingredients and forage together prevents animals from selecting feeds and promotes a stable rumen. Left, Tony and Nicholas Farrer.
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.
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