Boosting the trace element and vitamin status of his finishing heifers has seen Devon based farmer, Graham Harding, increase daily liveweight gain by 28 per cent.
Graham and Kate Harding run a mixed farm in Putford, Devon, comprising of 350-head of beef cattle plus 500 ewes.
Limousin cows form the basis of the suckler herd, with home-bred stock, plus additional purchased store cattle and 100 Belgian Blue cross calves from a local dairy farm, which are taken through to finishing at around 26 months of age.
Around 70 cattle are finished annually with the steers mainly sold as forward stores.
Maximising daily liveweight gain (DLWG), while making the most of forage, is a key aim for the business to drive productivity and profitability.
“We’re trying to finish cattle as efficiently as possible and making incremental improvements in DLWG is a core focus for us," said Graham.
This led him to consider the role of micronutrition in the finishing period, particularly because the farm has a known selenium deficiency.
He had also noted uneven performance within a batch of heifers.
“We usually only finish home-bred stock but due to a farm relocation we missed a cycle of calving and so bought-in 70 store heifers to make up the numbers.
"We noticed that some of the purchased cattle were trailing behind our home-bred finishing heifers and an imbalance in trace elements was suggested as a possible explanation,” he explained.
This prompted him to try boluses, which offer a reliable and...
Read Full Story: https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/news/19739090.devon-beef-farmer-values-trace-element-boost-finishing/
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