Store lamb keepers urged to use grass and brassicas

摘要

Farmers wishing to manage store lambs as cost-effectively as possible should minimise concentrate use and get the most from grass and forage crops, according to ADAS sheep consultant Kate Philips. "In the current market there just isn't the margin togo down the ad-lib concentrate route," she says. "With compound feed prices at about f200/t and a feed conversion efficiency of 7:1, it will cost 1.40 to gain a kilogram. With a curcent lamb price of 1.52/t, it doesn't make a lot of sense." It's important to do the sums and make sure you are getting a premium for using concentrates, agrees EBLEX beef and sheep scientist Liz Genever. "Generally it is difficult to justify significant concentrate supplementation now."