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Winter cereal crops are now fast approaching the stage suitable for cutting for wholecrop. Feeding wholecrop cereal silage alongside quality grass silage can significantly increase the animal’s dry matter intake and help maximise rumen function. For these reasons wholecrop is becoming an increasingly popular feed on livestock farms. Cereals crops such as wheat, barley, oats,…

Reducing the age of first calving (AFC) to 24 months is now the target on most dairy farms, given the associated benefits of reduced rearing costs, higher lifetime yield and increased longevity. This is still a challenge on many farms as NMR’s most recent key performance indicators show that the average AFC is 26.5 months….

Fane Valley Co-operative Society and its Group of companies have announced a new designated charity initiative. Through the Group’s ‘Daffodil & Daisy Cancer Charity Fund’ the business will be supporting the invaluable work of Cancer Fund for Children, Marie Curie, and the Irish Cancer Society, reflecting the reach of Fane Valley’s operational activities across the…

Reseeding grassland can will improve grass yields and quality, resulting in higher performance. Recent sward assessments ahead of first cut silage found that newly sown swards were growing 11- 29% more dry matter than older swards despite receiving the same amount of nitrogen as older swards. Grass is the cheapest feed source for ruminant livestock,…

Dry matter intake is the key driver to maintaining performance at grass and can fluctuate dramatically due to a multitude of factors. It is essential to take a flexible approach when considering potential ‘litres from grass,’ considering grass quality on the farm and variable weather conditions. Under optimum grazing conditions, cows have the potential to…

Fane Valley will once again continue its sponsorship partnership with Balmoral Show and is set to support the Holstein and Hereford sections plus the Hampshire Down and Charolais sheep sections. Speaking at the sponsorship launch, Matthew Armstrong – Technical Support Manager at Fane Valley Feeds said, “Sponsoring Balmoral Show is another way for us to give…

After the long winter, it is good to see cattle grazing in the fields. However, there are reports of cow deaths due to grass staggers. What is Grass Staggers? Grass staggers, also known as Grass Tetany, is a condition caused by a low blood magnesium concentration. Vets may call this hypomagnesaemia, hypo (low) magnesaemia (blood…

The control of annual and perennial weeds is critical to efficient grassland management enhancing performance by maximising grass yield and ensuring optimum sward utilisation. After what has been a relatively mild winter, weed growth has been vigorous this spring.  Docks and chickweed are nutrient hungry weeds and will compete with the sward for nutrients and…

William and David Irvine farm the Halftown Holstein herd at Mountnorris in County Armagh. A strong emphasis has always been placed on making and conserving high quality forage. A key element to producing high quality forage is using PIONEER® forage additives.William explains, “We have used PIONEER® additives on this farm for at least the last…