Spring Turnout
The days are getting noticeably longer, and the temperature is starting to increase which means that turnout is upon us. Effective management of your spring grass is crucial to ensure you make the most of it.
Due to the nature of early grass growth, spring grass is typically very lush meaning it is high in protein, specifically rumen degradable protein, which is low in fibre and high in rapidly fermentable sugars.
We need to maximise forage intake whilst ensuring a gradual transition to avoid upsetting the rumen bugs. Rumen adaptation takes 2-3 weeks, so it is recommended that you start with just a few hours of grazing a day with cows back in at night, targeting residual grass length of about 4cm.
Rotating cows through pastures enables you to target grazing areas more accurately and also reduces the risk of poaching. The nutritional value of grass makes cows more at risk of rumen acidosis, as fermentable carbohydrates and a low fibre level can lead to lactic acid build-up, which causes a drop in rumen pH. In combination with this, the cows' cudding rate decreases, and so buffering from saliva is reduced due to the very low dry matter of the grass, so managing buffer feeding is key.
Buffer feeds should contain forage with a good level of structural fibre and be rationed with concentrates formulated to balance bypass protein, digestible fibre and starch. It is also recommended to feed a buffer and yeast at this stage to help the rumen adapt and reduce the risk of acidosis and consequently milk fat depression.
We also need to closely monitor our ewes being turned out with lambs at foot to ensure they make the most of the spring grass. Ewes reach their peak lactation at 4 weeks post-lambing so we recommend continuing to feed one of our specially formulated ewe cakes up until at least this point to ensure they are continue to get sufficient energy and metabolisable protein alongside the grass.
At I’Ansons, we can help manage your diets and have a range of summer dairy cakes formulated specifically to complement spring grass.
Micro-lic Buckets
At this time of year, we recommend our mineral buckets to ensure you have a smooth turnout and ensure animals are healthy. Our buckets provide essential minerals and vitamins to get optimal animal performance. We also offer two types of feed and mineral buckets that include additional sources of energy and protein. All of our buckets are available in 20kg and 100kg sizes.
Recommended feeding guidelines are as follows: use one 20kg bucket for every 15 cattle or 35 sheep, and one 100kg bucket for every 50 cattle or 90 sheep.
Below are our recommended buckets for spring turnout. For more information on our complete range, please call your local sales representative or click the image to find out more.
GP HI-ENERGY MICRO-LIC
An extra high-energy feed and mineral bucket designed to suit all stock for feeding at tupping time through to post-lambing and to support the overall health, growth, fertility and production in cattle. Grass at this time of year has high water content, so nutrient concentration is lower; these buckets are designed to help overcome this issue. These are stocked in our Masham warehouse and are available for collection and delivery now.
HI-MAG MICRO-LIC
A high-spec mineral bucket including a high, 10% level of palatable bioavailable magnesium for use when stock is at risk of grass staggers. Mainly targeting ewes post-lambing and suckler cows at turnout. These are stocked in our Masham warehouse and are available for collection and delivery now.
Milk Powders
We now have Britmilk Vitalamb milk powder available at our Masham warehouse in 20kg bags. Vitalamb is formulated with high-quality milk proteins and Bio-Start probiotics to help maintain healthy gut bacteria, ensuring optimal growth rates and good health for lambs.
This free-flowing powder is suitable for both bottle feeding and machine feeding. You can pick up 20kg bags from our Masham site, or we can deliver a pallet of 10kg or 20kg bags direct to your farm.
We also offer a variety of calf milk powders available for delivery. For more information, please contact our office on 01765 689332 or reach out to your local sales rep.