Agrisja Event 2017

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Provita will be attending the Agrisja event, with 3B Services AS, from the 25th to the 27th of August 2017. The event takes place in Pin Frigarden, 7517 Hell, Norway. For more information see https://www.agrisja.no/  

Sheep lameness – “prevention is better than cure”

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Perry and Barbara Semple run a commercial flock of 500 ewes near Limavady. The ewes are Suffolk and Texel cross mule sheep put back to Texel and Belclare rams.

“We start to get lambs away from 11 weeks of age at 20kg deadweight with no meal. To do this they need to be thriving well the whole way through and cannot suffer any setbacks.

To achieve this the Semples use a variety of management techniques including rotational grazing and topping to ensure fresh leafy grass is available all the time, a worming and fluke program based on SCOPS principles and a preventative footbathing program.

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Better profitability when selling two lambs per ewe

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Colm and Enda Mc Aleer run a small purebred and commercial flock near Dungannon. They have a nucleus of 20 purebred Suffolk ewes and 40 commercial Suffolk Mule crosses and Mule’s.

“We are aiming for a good wide and long sheep with good power and style for the pedigree side of the flock”, said Enda. The flock is run under the prefix Kerrib Suffolks.

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How to measure grass silage yields

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One of the most common questions around silage making time is, how many tonnes per acre are there?

Provita’s Tommy Armstrong suggests the following method.

“Silage yield can be assessed very easily by simply weighing the actual quantity of grass cut from a half metre by half meter quadrat.

“When doing farm trials this year, I wanted to be very accurate in the application of our silage inoculant Advance+.

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Fantastic silage results from farmers using Advance+ province wide

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For 25 years farmers across Northern Ireland have trusted Provita’s silage inoculants to ensure the best possible silage quality. Advance+ is the only inoculant made in Northern Ireland and it’s designed to produce excellent results in the wildly varying conditions we experience here.

 

Its strains have been tested through the EU registration system plus it has been tested on farm in mini-silo and split-silo tests.

 

“We’ve tested it on farm from 18% to 60% dry matter, from 0.7% to 9% sugars on grass wholecrop and maize. Provided good management is also practiced its use results in better fermentation, stability and predicted animal performance,” commented Tommy Armstrong.

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Wright family farm continues to see great results using Advance+

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One farm who has used Advance+ since its launch in 2013 is Jim and Dean Wright from Portadown. They have targeted more milk from forage as an essential performance target.   

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Advance+ inoculant dual benefits on Fivemiletown dairy farm

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Nathan Hall combines his job at Fane Valley Stores’ operation in Augher with milking 55 spring calving dairy cows. He started up the dairying business as a new entrant five years ago. The Fivemiletown man is committed to maximising milk output from grass and forage.

 “The cows are currently averaging 7,000L and there is scope to expand the herd over the coming years,” he said.

Optimising output from grazed grass and silage are equally important for Nathan. He normally takes two cuts of silage annually.

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Silage Inoculant Applicator Deals Available

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Provita can provide farmers and contractors with the means to apply Advance+ silage inoculant accurately on all types of silage making machines. Cab controlled non-blocking powder, standard liquid, digitally controlled liquid and ultra-low volume systems are available. These can fit self-propelled machines, trailed harvesters, balers and silage wagons. Competitive deals are available when using these machines along with Provita Advance+. 

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Advance + delivering optimal silage quality and almost zero forage losses on Tyrone dairy farm

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Given his herd’s predominantly autumn/winter calving pattern, making good silage is an absolute priority for Co Tyrone dairy farmer Cyril Maxwell. The Augher man is currently milking 130 cows, averaging 8,300L over 305 days

“The cows calve between October and April,” he confirmed.

“The aim is to produce maximum levels of high quality milk from forage. This includes silage and grazed grass. The cows are currently receiving 2½t of concentrate per lactation.

“Our current milk quality is good with butterfats averaging 4.23% and proteins 3.15%.”

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