Beef and Sheep Feed for the Professional Farmer
Beef and Sheep production is becoming very specialised. Farms are driving this change as they drive for increased production and efficiency from the animals on their units, and integrated supply chains contribute by demanding specific carcase criteria to standardise final products. Professional growers and finishers of beef and sheep are always looking to optimise performance in these areas. The FeedCo team has grown to increase Beef and Sheep expertise within the business. Our goal is to be the best source of advice and service for beef and sheep farmers in the South West.
As in other sectors the FeedCo beef and sheep offering is built on the passion to get on farm to see the animals and listen to the issues.
From this firm foundation the best science combined with experience is the way to bring solutions and performance. Excellent growth rates are the product of good management combined with good nutrition – attention to detail pays off in those extra gains which show on the bottom line.
We believe good nutrition comes from good forage and quality concentrate feeds combined in balanced rations. Quality concentrate is made from highly digestible ingredients, we combine these into fixed formulated cakes, and bespoke blends.
FeedCo expertise will assist beef and sheep farmers with:
Cost per kilo liveweight gain
Measuring cost is vital in driving efficiency in any business. Yet understanding this in relation to production is needed to assess true performance and profitability. Cost of kilograms gained is the key metric in beef and sheep to bring together cost and output. This is the best information to target improvements on farm, and benchmark against other producers. Need help working out your cost/kilo?
Rationing growing and finishing cattle
Animals grow in different ways depending on their stage of production. Combine this with the inherent variation in feedstuffs available on farm and you have a scenario where measuring and balancing the nutrition is very important. In younger animals ensuring frame growth is key, and investing in good nutrition here pays back in the ideal animal hitting the fattening pen. In that fattening pen the dynamics of ruminant nutrition create the need for a very different ration that can be very protein efficient and so cost effective.
Our rationing is built on good forage analysis foundations. Analysing forage through dry grind testing is much more accurate than traditional wet scan analysis widely used in the UK.
Weighing of cattle and updating rations dependent on performance and targets
Cattle and sheep can look fine, even look well, yet at the same time not be growing fast. This is because there is a difference between the maintenance and growth potential in rations. To drive kilograms of production then we need to ensure animals are growing through regular weighing, and make adjustments where they are not. Subtle changes can occur in animal intake, forage quality, or environmental conditions for example, and if we are not monitoring by weighing then there is often no drive to fix issues early.
Understanding the EUROP grid
Make that extra pence per kilogram that is available with better understanding of how to manipulate carcase grades through management and feeding.
Regular monitoring of beef and sheep units to maximise returns
The specialisation of beef and sheep production relies on the development of effective monitoring tools to target improvements. The FeedCo team want to work with you to set out these targets, and the methods of monitoring them on your farm.