Managing nutrition over the winter to maximise performance

‘Getting Winter Ready’ is a three-part series on the Beef Edge podcast focusing on nutrition, health and housing. For this first part, on this week’s episode Teagasc Advisor John Kelly from county Offaly discusses managing nutrition over the winter to maximise performance. John highlights that there are a combination of factors such as management, diet and housing that impact on performance over the winter. These are overcome by trying to maximise the animals’ intake and performance whilst reducing stress and minimising any dietary upsets. When it comes to beef cattle rations, John advises farmers to look for the energy content as it is the most important nutrient, followed by protein which is needed for growth. Reading the feed label and analysing what is value for money rather than sounding good value is important he says. The first ingredient, he explains, has the highest content and work back from there. Be cautious of any fillers as their feed value versus barley are much lower. To arrange getting a silage sample tested, you can contact your local Teagasc advisor. For more episodes and information covered on the Beef Edge, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com