October Newsletter 2022

Feedback on the ground from dairy farmers is suggesting that in-calf heifers are under target weights.  Likewise beef farmers in drought affected areas are seeing similar with weanlings. These weanlings can be supplemented right throughout the winter to bridge the gap and get them back on target, but individuals with In-calf heifers under target weights need to act immediately.

A heifer needs to be approx. 90% of her mature weight at calving.  For a Friesian heifer at calving this would suggest she needs to be 500 - 520kg minimum while different breeds will vary. With these heifers scheduled to start calving in February and many farmers reluctant to feed concentrates right up to calving for fear of having big calves and difficult calving’s etc, you now have approx. 100 days to correct any weight and growth imbalances. With grass growth rates, proteins and quality deteriorating you need to introduce concentrates here immediately. Autumn grass traditionally would boast a UFL value of about 0.98 and generally be in more of a supply than this year, all these factors combined have led us to where we are. If your heifers are 430-440kg this minute you need to be ensuring you are going to get 0.6-0.7kg average live weight gain per day for the next 100 days. These heifers should be given priority to good quality silage at housing and offered concentrates at a feed rate to compliment the silage quality. For example if feeding 66 DMD silage you will need to feed 2kg of meal to get a lwg of 0.6kg per head per day, if this silage quality was 70 DMD you can cut your concentrate levels to 1kg per head, and likewise if the silage DMD is at 62 you will need to feed 2.6kg of meal to get the required weight gain. Also its worth noting that there can be big variances in silage proteins from year to year, hence the importance of testing your silage in time and getting a concentrate to match.

At Liffey Mills we have a number of renowned beef feeds that have been consistently delivering results to farmers for decades, and the feed which we will be promoting for anyone looking to achieve both frame growth and weight gain in either a beef or dairy enterprise this winter will be our Dairy Care 19% Cube/Ration. This feed was specifically formulated for those trying to push growth rates, its 19% protein made up predominantly from Soya Bean, it has both barley and flaked maize as its energy source and contains Beet Pulp and rolled oats for its fibre. Because its entire contents boasts only of the best ingredients on the market and its high level of protein you can and will obtain successful frame growth and weight gain at the same time. For more information on our extensive feed range log onto www.www.liffeymills.ie or contact your local technical sales advisor or nearest Liffey Mills branch.