Minerals boost performance on Welsh hill farm

A livestock producer says resolving trace element deficiencies associated with poor fertility and growth has underpinned the beef and sheep enterprises on his Welsh upland farm.

More than half the suckler herd at Llwyn y Brain, near Newtown, Powys, had been failing to get back in calf and ewes were scanning at just 99% when John Yeomans returned to the family business after graduating from college.

At the time the farm had volunteered as a Welsh Sheep Strategy monitor farm and the Yeomans’ were offered the chance to blood test the stock to pinpoint the cause of the underperformance.

These tests clearly pointed to a major deficiency in copper levels and a shortage of selenium and cobalt too.

It was evident the issue needed to be addressed, said Mr Yeomans. “We knew we had to get the basics right if we stood any chance of moving the business forward,” he admits.

Mr Yeomans, on the advice of his vet at Trefaldwyn Vets, Montgomery, and working with James McCulloch of Agrimin, decided to give trace element boluses a go and says his stock are now thriving.

Role of trace elements

“We have turned the business around, we are now making money. It has made me realise just how important trace elements are,” he said.

“Getting the basics right is a critical part of any farming system. Mineral and trace element balance is essential for livestock, especially when there are natural shortages as there are in upland areas such as the one in which we farm.”

The 70 cow suckler herd calves from January to April and is bolused twice a year – at bulling and at pre-calving. Mr Yeomans says the bolus has resolved fertility issues.

“When I first came home to the farm from college we had 23 cows and 13 of those were barren but now that the herd is getting the trace elements it needs we rarely have any problems with getting the cows and heifers in calf. They are healthier because they don’t retain their cleansings.” The herd’s calving index averages 365 days.

Benefits to health

Mr Yeomans believes the overall improvement in health has been beneficial in other ways too. “We don’t worm the cows at all, they only get a dose for fluke once a year, and youngstock are only wormed once. I think they are less prone to parasites when their overall health is better.”

Calf health has improved too. “Because of the iodine in the bolus the calves benefit from this in the womb and they are a lot sharper when they are born,” says Mr Yeomans.

Calves are later bolused when they are ruminating. Mr Yeomans says it gets their muscles growing and aids immunity. “We know the bolus is working just by looking at the calves,” he says.

The herd is housed on a diet of ad lib silage from the end of October to the end of April. The cows post-calving also get a daily 1.4kg ration of blend. “It definitely puts the cows on a sound footing for going to the bull,” says Mr Yeomans.

Sheep benefits

The sheep enterprise at Llwyn y Brain has also benefited from trace element supplementation. The flock is housed from the end of January before lambing in mid-March.

Blood tests had pinpointed selenium and copper deficiencies in the ewes. “We bolused all the ewes for trace elements pre-tupping and instead of scanning at 90% we are now getting an average of 166%. We have only had 17 barren ewes this season,” says Mr Yeomans.

The health benefits are passed to the lambs too. “The lambs are on their feet and suckling immediately and we rarely get any infections. We put it down to the selenium in the bolus.

“When ewes are getting enough trace elements, they will have better colostrum and this will be passed on to the lambs to make their immune systems stronger.”

Ten-week-old lambs are bolused before they are turned onto hill land. In the summer, Mr Yeomans also gives rams a dose as he says it helps with semen production.

The overall improvement in livestock performance has demonstrated just how important trace elements are, says Mr Yeomans. “While the right level of pH levels and plant nutrients are key to successful grass management trace elements are no different when it comes to successful livestock production,” he says.