What’s been happening?
An important and timely update about things that are happening on farms around northwest NSW and southern Queensland!
There are some incredibly nutritious cotton seed feedtests come through. Some of these have been up to 18.3MJ ME/kgDM, up to 26% oil and around 20% Crude Protein. This high oil content is far higher than a rumen can tolerate and will limit performance if cattle are forced to eat too much. We have seen this limit performance when combined with silage with a higher-than-average oil content.
It is also likely that the quality of the summer grass, having stood in the paddocks dry since February is no longer good enough to supply enough nutrients to high needs livestock when combined with cotton seed alone. If you have paddocks where there is only dry feed, and you are feeding only cotton seed to poor body condition, lactating or heavily pregnant animals, your ration might need a rethink.
The cotton seed de-linter at Wee Waa has been broken down for some weeks now, causing a large back log of orders. As a result, many producers have found other feed sources.
We are now seeing almond hulls and walnut hulls make a return to the district. Just remember, these are typically high in energy (8MJ ME/kgDM) and low in protein (2-6%) and provide a useful roughage source. As with all byproducts, get a commodity vendor dec and a feedtest.
I am also receiving phone calls about grapemarc. Grapemarc is a byproduct of the wine industry, containing seeds and skins. It can be high in oil, so be careful mixing it with other high oil feeds. It is typically very low in energy and protein, and high in moisture. It can often have heated up during storage, causing chemical reactions to occur that render the energy and protein less bioavailable to the animal. Grapemarc, while cheap, should only be viewed as a roughage source and combined with plenty of other high-quality ingredients such as grains. It is very important to get a commodity vendor dec for grapemarc as grapes can be sprayed with plenty of chemicals prior to harvest that could affect their usage as a stockfeed.
Sheep prices, both fat and store have plummeted which is influencing feeding decisions. Many producers have let sheep out of their feedlots. It is good to see producers continuing to feed breeding ewes through lambing and commit to supplying good nutrition for weaners. No matter the season there is rarely a strong market for a woody weaner.
Lamb marking percentages are as best as can be expected considering the heavy hand feeding. The latest ABARE reports show that the shift in focus from wool production to lamb production resulted in the average lamb marking rate nationally trending upwards from 86% in 2000–01 to 94% in 2017–18, noting that in 2018–19, the average lamb-marking rate declined to 90% due to the effects of drought.
Talking to Gordon Refshauge from NSW DPI’s Cowra research station at the MLA MeatUp forum last week, the largest source of loss in many flocks, is ewes that are scanned as twins, yet rear singles. These girls are impossible to identify, record and draft out if they repeat the behaviour - they appear wet at lamb marking. Focusing on twin nutrition, small mob sizes and protected warm paddocks are important.
On many farms, I see an overreliance on licks. Licks that encourage animals to eat more dry feed are only useful if they contain ingredients such as urea and GranM. They should also be used when the dry feed is still fairly digestible, and they are targeted at the right animals. Some animals just need food to improve production and knowing when to switch from licks to grain is important.
Finally, I’m excited to see so much silage in use on farms across the area!
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