North Tyrone sheep producer, Isaac Crilly was a visitor to the Provita stand at Sheep NI. He currently manages a 500-strong flock of Belclare x New Zealand Suffolk ewes, the majority of which are crossed with Meatlinc tips.
“Mineral nutrition is crucially important,” he said.
“In my own case, we test the sheep and the soils. We have soils with high levels of copper, but most of it is locked up by molybdenum, therefore the sheep are low in copper. Additionally the sheep were low in selenium. As a result I needed to source a product with high levels of selenium and copper.
I selected ProVitaMin as it has a high specification, is produced locally in Northern Ireland and is very cost effective in terms of cost per dose. I have been using ProVitaMin plus Copper for the past number of years, and when combined with good management it has worked well. We take part in benchmarking to monitor flock performance and last year we sold just over 2 finished lambs per ewe.”
Tests carried out by Parklands Veterinary Group and presented at the NSA sheep show, demonstrated that the vast majority of flocks in Norther Ireland will be deficient in some of the key elements.
Ensuring that ewes and lambs receive their full complement of minerals and vitamins throughout the year will help overcome these deficiencies and improve performances.
Using the ProVitaMin concentrated oral drench is one way of correcting these deficiencies.
2.5ltr promotional packs with an additional 1ltr FOC are available at participating Provita stockists, promotion valid while stocks last.