Vitamins and minerals play a key role in the overall health and wellbeing of livestock and, for Warwickshire beef, sheep and arable farmer David Goulbourne, getting that balance right means using a Harbro mineral tailored to suit his farm and stock at Manor Farm, near Stratford-upon-Avon.
Trace elements may make up only a tiny proportion of a livestock ration, but getting the balance right can have a significant impact on animal health and performance. Having previously experienced issues with cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN) and ill-thrift, linked to deficiencies in vitamin B1 and vitamin B12 (and cobalt in the grass and silage), the team at Manor Farm turned to Harbro for support.
Harbro developed a unique mineral pack designed specifically to address the nutrient deficiencies identified on the farm.
“We live in a hard water area which is high in calcium, so we used to get a few health problems at weaning. But since we moved onto the new mineral from Harbro, which was devised to make up the deficiencies, our young calves and lambs are so much healthier,” said David.
“We don’t get the same issues with pneumonia or CCN at weaning and our youngstock no longer get a check – they just keep going.”
The same mineral mix is now added to feed rations across the farm. David says the change has significantly reduced veterinary and medicine costs, while finishing stock are spending fewer days on farm, helping to improve overall margins.
David runs suckler cows and buys in around 380 mostly British Blue store cattle. Purchased at local marts as three-to-four week-old bull calves every two to three weeks throughout the year, they are bucket-fed for a further four weeks before being castrated and introduced to calf rearer nuts.
Once they are consuming up to 1.5kg per day, the calves are weaned and gradually introduced to a home-mix, prepared using Harbro’s on-farm Mobile Mill & Mix service. The ration comprises barley, rapemeal, sugar beet, molasses and Grampian Harbro mineral at 25kg per tonne.
Manor Farm has also been a regular user of the Mobile Mill & Mix service for several years, supported by the team at Harbro’s Stratford depot. Regular visits allow David to make the most of home-grown cereals while giving him the flexibility to tailor rations to the changing needs of his livestock throughout the year.
As well as helping to manage feed costs, David values the convenience and reliability of the service, which has become an important part of the farm’s feeding system.
“The service works well for us. It gives us the flexibility to use what we grow on the farm and adjust the mix when we need to,” he said.
Depending on the time of year, most calves are grazed before being housed for their final three months. They are then finished on a home-grown ration of grass silage, maize, rapemeal, barley and molasses, alongside Harbro mineral.
“We used to have a dairy farm here, but we stopped milking cows in 2012. We now buy in calves for finishing every two to three weeks to ensure a regular cash flow, and it works really well,” said David.
“We buy British Blue cross bulls from the dairy herd because these are the type of cattle our buyers are looking for, but we have also bought a few British Blue heifers this year in a bid to reduce costs, with calf values having virtually doubled over the past two years.”
He added: “Our steers will finish at 700kg plus, producing grades of O+3 and R4L through Woodheads, with killing-out percentages of 54–55%. Our home-bred Limousin crosses from the beef herd, which receive no creep feed until nearer weaning, finish at similar weights but with slightly better grades and killing-out percentages of 55–58%.
“We have a lot of grass down here which can’t be made into hay when the ground is in various schemes, so it’s good to have grazing cattle to make use of it. Yes, we could finish them at a younger age, but it would cost us more in feeding and they make up the weight over time on the grass that’s here.”
The business currently sells around 10–15 finished cattle each month.
Manor Farm extends to 400 acres, with around 56 acres used to grow feed barley this year, alongside 250 acres of winter wheat and 50 acres of maize to provide energy for the ration. Oilseed rape is also grown as a break crop, with around 97 acres planted this year.
While the cattle are run extensively, the first lambs are finished within four months on grass alongside a creep feed. This comprises a home mix of barley, rapeseed meal, sugar beet pulp and Harbro mineral, mixed 50:50 with a lamb creep finisher.
The ewes, which are tupped with Texel and Charollais rams, lamb indoors in March, with the first progeny sold finished off their mothers from the first week of July onwards.
For David, the experience at Manor Farm demonstrates the value of looking closely at the nutritional needs of an individual farm rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. By addressing specific mineral and trace element deficiencies, he has seen improvements in livestock health and performance alongside lower veterinary and medicine costs.
With youngstock maintaining momentum through key stages such as weaning and finishing cattle spending fewer days on farm, getting the mineral balance right is helping Manor Farm make betteruse of its home-grown feed and forage while supporting a more efficient and profitable system.