An on-farm meeting organised by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is set to focus on optimising livestock performance in a grazing system.
The event focused on livestock and grazing will take place from 11:00a.m – 2:00p.m on Thursday, September 5, at Hele Barton Farm, Boyton, Launceston, Devon.
AHDB said attendees will learn how to assess the nutrition and mineral status of their herd and ensure the correct balance is being delivered to get the best performance from grazed grass and silage.
Mineral levels and nutrition from pasture can vary through the season, as can livestock requirements, AHDB said.
At this meeting, attendees will hear from independent ruminant mineral nutritionist Peter Bone, who will focus on the role and sources of minerals, symptoms of deficiency and negative effects on production.
Dave Davies of Silage Solutions will discuss the importance of conserved forages and why ensuring a high level of available nutrients and digestibility is crucial when feeding more forage to maintain high milk production.
With different forages and multispecies leys increasing in popularity on farms with the new SFI incentive, Dr Hannah Jones from Farm Carbon Tool Kit will talk through the role of diverse swards in a grazing system and the challenges when incorporating them into a farm’s rotation.
The meeting will cover:
- Roles and sources of minerals in ruminant nutrition;
- How to diagnose a deficiency in a herd;
- The foundations of achieving good silage preservation;
- The key measures of silage nutritional value fed and cow performance;
- The role of diverse swards in a grazing system.
Registration with tea and coffee will be at 10:30a.m, with a prompt start at 11:00a.m.
