Beefing Up For Christmas

September 2010

Most farmers in the south west appreciate the risks of over estimating grass values at this time of the year. Grass alone can often be slushy and of disappointing nutritional value in September, adversely affecting not only milk production but also body condition and crucially fertility. But what about the feeding of beef herd, in the last days of summer and into early autumn?

It is sometimes the case that the beef stock are allowed to go backwards in the autumn, when instead, with a little encouragement, the stock can be brought on strongly towards the end of the year. With good planning, animals that are now about 450 kilos and 16-18 months old, can be moved forward with a boost that will bring them to market in time for Christmas, when beef prices are often at a premium.

A healthy animal of 450 kilos today can comfortably reach 560kg in time for the Christmas market by using a good quality finishing ration, such as Cornwall Farmers’ Beefy Boost Blend. This is just one of the many specialist beef range of blends manufactured by Cornwall Farmers. A fully mineralised feed which provides a starch boost supplemented by a dash of yeast to improve feed conversion efficiency, Beefy Boost will add, on average 1kg to the animal’s liveweight per day during feeding.

Before starting any specialist feed programme, it makes good sense to know the weight of the animals. Putting a regular weighting operation into practice is an important part of modern farm management as the information gathered forms the basis of maintaining a healthy and productive herd. At this time of the year, a good idea would be to bring the herd in for weighing, and at the same time attend to their worming needs. This way, the animal can be properly set-up for autumn and winter with a feed programme established that will ensure targeted gains are achieved, and will also receive the worming necessary to maintain excellent health throughout the rest of the year. Cornwall Farmers has an extensive range of cattle wormers, designed to be used in rotation to avoid immunity problems as well as a selection of cattle weighing systems and electronic scales.

For further information on this offer and details about beef feed and other Duchy Blends, please contact your local representative by calling Dr Robin Hawkey on 07770 816581; Andy Hawken on 07901 854463 or Matt Jenkin on 07770 598296