Category: News

Springtime is a very busy time for farmers with cows calving, fertiliser being spread and a lot of farm activity happening when the weather allows.

This is a time when we all can over do things and end up with back problems.

The key to avoiding these very painful problems lies in a few simple steps.

Take your time! Avoid jumping out of tractors and machinery as this puts huge stress on your skeletal load bearing muscles and can often lead to slips and falls.

Plan your jobs. Plan your jobs that may involve heavy lifting so that you can get a helping hand if possible. It may be that you have a neighbour that will be doing the same job as you in the next few days so ask for a hand! A problem shared is a job halved!

If you are getting pallets of fertiliser delivered ask the delivery man to leave the new pallet on bit of high ground or on top of a few pallets where you will not have to bend down too far to remove the last few bags. Use big bags and a loader if at all possible.

If you only have one tractor many farmers make a steel bracket to hang the 500kg bags from with the loader and then back the spreader underneath.

Clear the yard of obstacles such as pallets,old bags and old unused equipment to minimise the risk of tripping and falling.

We are delighted to announce that we have upgraded our pelleting process to handle increased high cereal formulations.

As further proof of our commitment to using only the best raw materials in our feeds we have successfully trialled and fitted some new equipment to pellet high cereal diets such as those with large quantities of Maize.

It is in the industry that it is normally quite difficult to make dust free pellets from products with high levels of Maize. After careful planning and investment we are delighted to be able to say that we have made huge progress in this area to the point where diets such as our Hi Maize Beef Finisher nut, and DairyMax18 nuts are among the best results in pellet durability tests.

Trials with this has resulted in higher quality pellets being produced that will travel well in our customers bins and augers.

Call us for an order on 061 355186

 

 

The early signs of Calving 2013 have again highlighted many issues with cows at calving. Calving has barely started but some herds are experiencing significant problems. Cows are calving down both thin and worst of all weak.

 

At the moment knackeries are reporting a huge increase in business. One such company told us that in 2012 they were doing maybe 5 to 6 loads a week, in 2013 so far they are flat out doing 15 to 20 loads a week. It is a frightening scenario.

 

Here at John O’Connell Feeds we want our customers to be successful first and foremost. Our goal is to help our customers maximise their profits through animal nutrition and performance.

We are not trying to put a hard sell on feed rather we are trying to highlight the huge energy gap in the diet of a cow on silage in 2013 versus a cow on silage in years where they have had better quality silage. A few kilos of feed to a cow before calving will not make or break our business but we believe it could be a huge benefit to our customers.

 

While many farmers fed cows in the early stages of the dry cow period there is a reluctance to feed as they get closer to calving. Some farmers have had to buy expensive silage from a variety of sources so testing silage is difficult. In some instances silage quality is highly overestimated.

This lower quality silage has a vastly lower nutritional value and energy value than silage that was fed in 2012, so feeding at 2012 levels with poor silage is just not working, leading to thin cows and worst of all weak cows at calving.

 

Energy demand increases significantly in the 7^th to 9^th month of pregnancy by 30% and at the same time the cow’s capacity to intake is reduced. As an animal already under pressure throw in a hand grenade of poor quality silage and it is playing havoc with cow health leading to high mortality rates and serious problems at calving.

 

The consequences of not feeding in 2013

 

• Cows which have a low body condition score produce less milk and fewer solids.
• Cows which are thin at calving have poorer fertility.
• Thin cows have reduced immunity and high risk of retained placenta so will cost more in vet bills.
• Higher risk of metabolic diseases such as milk fever, displaced abomasums, and poor feed intake after calving.

 

The general advice for farmers is to supplement silage for all cows on less than ideal silage quality.

Look at feeding 2-3 kgs minimum on a 64DMD silage rising to 3-4 kgs minimum on a 60 dmd silage before calving regardless of body condition.

 

All years being equal most farmers would get away with feeding minimal amounts of feed pre calving but learning from previous experiences in poor fodder years we would urge you to consider bridging the energy gap for your cows at calving.

Call us for help and more details.

This spring many chickens have come home to roost. The poor quality forage that most farmers were forced to make last summer is causing serious trouble with many farmers.

With silage samples coming in with as low as 58DMD and 8% protein this is having a very negative effect on animals body score and energy needs. Even if this in plentiful supply this will have serious financial implications over the next few months.

Firstly the loss of body condition will cost a lot of money in terms of Compound feed to get it back to where it was let alone improve it. Waiting to go out to grass to finish cattle could add up to 6 months on to their finishing time. This is time you could be spending with the next batch of animals making you more money!

It is 5 times more expensive to get back body condition rather than maintain it!

A cows milk yield for the year is set from the condition she is in calving down. If she calves down weak and thin she will not produce anywhere near her potential milk yield over the year despite heavy feeding.

So the consequences of Thin cows are as follows, they will be slower to go in calf, have more health problems and have smaller milk yields.

The emphasis has to be on feeding all animals good quality, high energy feed and here at John O’Connell Feeds we have plenty of options for all farming enterprises.

For the Dairy Farmer

We have a range of high quality Superflow Dairy nuts and rations. These have good UFL values and also high PDIE energy values.

For a step beyond this we have DairyMax18% protein with mostly Maize and other high quality, high ufl ingredients including yeast to aid digestion and feed conversion.

For those in need of High protein dairy feed we have a DairyExcel20% protein feed with mostly Maize and other ingredients such as distillers, soya, rapeseed etc. This also comes with yeast to aid digestion and feed conversion.

For the Beef Farmer

We have a high energy Beef 16% protein ration and nut with mostly Barley and other high quality ingredients. This has proven to be hugely popular this year at a competitive price.

Beef HiMaize finisher nut and ration. this finisher ration has been very popular over the years and with mostly maize and other cereals in the feed it works very well for animals on good silage.

Beef elite Finisher. A great product to finish cattle with that we are very proud of. This has an even higher level of maize and barley, it also contains yeast and a rumen buffer to aid feed conversion.

In Summary, we know the problems of energy deficits in silage are all over the country but there are solutions rather than watching your investment in time and money in the previous year fall away. We can help you minimise the body losses and get back to high performing anaimals as fast as possible. Call us on 061 355186 for more information.

 

 

DairyExcel 2o is a no holds barred top quality feed.

As the name suggests it has been formulated to be high in digestible protein, high in digestible energy, have a high PDIE value and a high UFL 0.95.

This has proven to be a very effective feed for cows who require a high level of protein and energy to perform at their highest.

It also contains megalac to provide further energy and to help keep cow condition along with a mineral pack to help cover the cows metabolism coming up to breeding.

Call us on 061 355186 for price details.

So springtime is nearly upon us and now that Christmas is over its really time to look at what we need to feed our animals till we hope they go out on grass.

 

We are being hit on both sides with our fodder in that the volume is not there and also the quality is not there after the tough harvesting periods in 2012.

 

Silage Quality 2013

Results of analysis show that the average DMD ( Dry Matter Digestibility) of silage is a worrying 64% with over 20 % of these samples under 60DMD.

We have all heard of fellow farmers feeding poorly preserved poor quality silage to animals and the worry is that we will all be competing to buy the limited volume of silage left in the country regardless of quality.

There is a feeling of panic among many farmers short on fodder after last years disaterous weather. Indeed the country is alive with bales of questionable silage and straw being transported at very high costs to farmers short on silage. 30 euro per round bale of silage is not unheard of and there is a feeling that as the season continues this could go up to 40 or more per bale.

 

THERE ARE CHEAPER BETTER VALUE ALTERNATIVES!

 

If we as farmers are serious about making money from our farm enterprise any purchase of such a magnitude should be very carefully considered.

 

A 700euro bale of silage costing 30 Euro per bale is costing you 43 euro per ton. Or 4.3 cents per kilo.

1 kilo of good guaranteed quality fodder replacement concentrate will replace 6 kilos of silage. And will cost you around 26 cents per kilo.

As this will replace 6 kilos of good silage it will cost you 4.3 cents per kilo or the same cost as buying “lucky bag” silage! From a business point of view it’s a no brainer. Especially when you factor in the cost of finding looking at, buying, hauling, unloading and handling bales of variable quality.

 

Do the Maths!!!!

It could save you a fortune in vet bills and loss of body condition and performance.

 

We can also offer straights at very competitive farmers to those with their own diet wagons and indeed have seen a big demand in these products with many customers feeding high levels of :

• Citrus      at 6% protein
• Palm      Kernal at 16.5%,
• Soya      Hulls at 13%,
• Beetpulp      at 9%
• Wheatfeed      at12.5.

 

It is quite possible and economic to feed high levels of these products with silage if they are managed correctly.

 

We can help you.

 

For more advice on this call us on 061 355186.

 

For prices on fodder replacement products or straights such as Beetpulp, Soya Hulls, Citrus pulp, Wheatfeed, Palm Kernal call us on 061 355186.

 

As an alternative to buying expensive fodder that may be of little or no value to our expensive high yielding animals I would ask you to consider feeding a guaranteed quality product that can be delivered to your door by a reputable local business.

 

In response to the current fodder crisis and the tough economic times that we as farmer find ourselves in here at O’Connell Mills, we have developed a new low cost ration as an alternative choice for our customers who wish to feed increased levels of feed rather than buying expensive silage.

 

Our aim with developing this Cattle ration is to provide an alternative to buying expensive silage thereby saving our customers money.

 

1kg of Cattle ration should substitute 6 kgs of silage so you can stretch the silage that you have to last the spring season.

 

Unlike buying silage in bales, Cattle ration is a consistent high quality product that you can get delivered to your door when you want it.

 

There are no hidden costs with feed cattle ration such as the cost of finding, travelling to look at bales, transporting, and unloading, loading and feeding extra bales of silage.

 

Cattle Ration is a coarse ration containing Rolled Barley, Beet pulp, Distillers, Rapeseed, Soya Hulls, Wheat feed, Palm and minerals.

 

We want to see our customers save money and make money and this is one way that this can be achieved.

 

Call us today for a price details in bulk and bags.