Ration Formulation

With a lot of weanlings only being housed this week on a lot of farms, winter feeding and feed purchases has started later than normal. We received a lot of questions and queries at our mart events on feeding and type of feed that should be fed to different types of cattle.

Cost should come into the equation, but the cheapest isn’t always the best when it comes to rations. It’s important to feed animals to their potential and make sure you have a good level of performance during the winter feeding period.

Meal companies are not required to publish the energy content of their rations, but are required by law to list ingredients in descending order on inclusion rate.

Energy is the most important feed value when feeding finishing cattle, with protein and energy important when feeding autumn calved cows, sucking calves and weanlings.

The table below lists some commonly used ingredients in rations. Cereals will be highest in energy, while Soya Bean meal and Rapeseed meal and maize distillers are all good sources of protein.

If purchasing a ration, look for an inclusion rate of the different ingredients to make sure you are getting good value. Keep things as simple as you can with a good energy source, a good protein source and some fibre.

Silage testing should be central to any diet formulation over the winter months. Most animal feed companies will provide this service.

Final Suckler Event

The final event in our autumn suckler marts roadshow will take place in Gortatlea mart, just outside Castlelisland in Co Kerry on Thursday 28 November from 7pm-9pm .

The Irish Farmers Journal livestock team will take a look at important schemes and deadlines to be aware of over the next couple of weeks to make sure there are no delays in payments during the month of December.

We will also give a market outlook for the beef and the weanling trades for the rest of 2024, and 2025 prospects. The next part of the evening will focus on animal health, where local vet Sean O’Sullivan will outline some important points in relation to keeping animals healthy this winter.

What products to use when dosing for liver fluke and when to use them, dosing for worms and keeping cattle free of lice will all be covered.

There will be a live suckler cow and calf demonstration, and a discussion showcasing suckler animals, including cow and calf pairs and high-quality weanlings, giving a first hand look at how different sires are performing on farm.

This will be in association with Dovea Genetics and Munster Bovine. Admission is free to each event. Tea/Coffee and refreshments will be served after each event.

A free to enter raffle will take place each night at the end of the presentations where a number of AI straws from bulls and other prizes can be won.