increase font size
Cattle Fodder Beet Block.
Fodder beet is an increasingly popular winter crop for beef and dairy cattle due to the large amounts of dry matter it produces.
But stock won't get the best out of the crop if its nutritional gaps aren't managed, warns product development manager Jackie Aveling, of SealesWinslow.
Its high sugar content makes fodder beet very palatable to stock, but it has sub-optimal protein content (13%), low fibre levels (<20%) and is low in phosphorus, magnesium and essential trace elements.
"At SealesWinslow, we've found a way to overcome these issues with a solution that's easy to use and which provides good nutritional support for stock grazing on fodder beet," says Aveling.
The result is a specially formulated Cattle Fodder Beet Block now on sale following on farm testing.
The new block addresses phosphorus deficiency and balances other minerals like magnesium and essential trace elements that are lacking in cows and heifers on a fodder beet diet.
"A diet deficient in these minerals, particularly phosphorus, can lead to 'creeper cows' in the short term, and longer-term difficulties including poor milk production, reduced appetite, weight loss and poor reproductive performance.
"Current practice to reduce the chance of phosphate deficiencies developing in stock grazed on fodder beet is to dust the crop with dicalcium phosphate (DCP) or use a slurry of the compound on silage or straw. However these practices can be dusty, time-consuming, wasteful and the intake is variable."
The new Cattle Fodder Beet Blocks come in 25kg tubs which are simply placed at the crop face under the fence in front of the cows.
Available from merchant retail stores, the block is said to pay its way in convenience, labour time saved, lower downer costs and longer-term stock problems, the supplier says.
It also compares favourably with the price of a single intravenous downer cow treatment. The recommended block to cow ratio is 1:25.
When buying supplementary feeds, farmers need to consider the entire package on offer – service, freight and all the components in a feed mix – not just focus on the price of the cheapest component – palm kernel meal, according to J. Swap Stockfoods sales manager Joe Hardman.
From this winter farmers will have a greater choice of feed types and blend options than ever before, thanks to Farmlands' purchase of animal nutrition company SealesWinslow.
Good milk flows, healthy cows and fewer spring headaches are all possible if cow body condition score (BCS) is well managed between drying off and next season's calving.
Trace elements are the ‘invisible fence at the top of the cliff’ that can protect a dairy herd’s health and ensure cows meet their full production potential, says SealesWinslow nutrition extension specialist Simon Butler.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
DairyNZ has announced the date for its upcoming Milksolids Levy vote.
Federated Farmers says climate protest group Greenpeace is manufacturing outrage and attempting to scare New Zealanders with headlines that have no basis in science.
New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) says it is supporting importer Goodfood Group in its decision to recall Food Snob and Mon Ami brand French Brie and Camembert cheeses.
New Zealand's dairy industry is right to call out Donald Trump over the damage the additional 15% tariff the US is imposing on our exports but also imposition on lower tariffs on our competitors.
Applications are now open for the Agri Futures Scholarships, helping young Kiwis from rural backgrounds kickstart careers in agriculture and rural sports.
OPINION: Milking It reckons if you're National, looking at recent polls, the dream scenario is that the elusive economic recovery…
OPINION: Sydney has a $12 million milk disposal problem.
