THE “first real spring in a long time” across the region and the state has brought an abundance of green feed, meaning it could come as a surprise to producers that their livestock are suffering from nutritional deficiencies.
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Tamworth Elders livestock production adviser Adam Turnbull said a much-improved season and high beef prices were being tempered by more competition among producers looking to restock – so it was important to “maximise every production opportunity on offer”.
And while it looks good, the feed “doesn’t have a lot of guts to it yet” and it was worthwhile being proactive with managing nutrition.
“Every single kilo counts, so anything that contributes to a healthy animal and strong weight gain is of huge value … taking care to ensure that all livestock are benefiting from nutritionally complete diets is of utmost importance,” Mr Turnbull said.
“In years with higher rainfall, with high levels of lush pasture around, deficiencies aren’t front-of-mind and producers often won’t realise deficiencies in their stock during these seasons where the feed is ample.”
Mr Turnbull said it looked like the above-average rainfall would keep up.
“While that’s good news, it also means some new challenges for producers. After difficult drought years during which farming enterprises shifted into consolidation mode, many are now investing in rebuilding herds and that’s kickstarting more competition in the market once again,” he said.
“Some producers who had to offload heifers at lower prices now have to pay a lot more to replace them, so performance is key to ensure a decent return.”
Mr Turnbull said producers needed to test their stock and soils – not only so they could supplement where needed but also to avoid the cost if it was not needed.
“Producers need to listen to reputable sources – to the experts – and be proactive about protecting and driving their investments,” he said.
“They also need to test their stock and soil for actuals, rather than making assumptions. It’s quick and easy, helping producers to identify deficient animals – or, on the other hand, unnecessary supplementation; leaking money that could be better spent elsewhere.”
Following testing, producers were often amazed at how low actual levels in their stock were, according to Mr Turnbull.
“These deficiencies frequently go unnoticed, but strong levels of micros and macros are absolutely critical to healthy animals.”
