Distillers supplies from the biofuels plants remain unreliable and much of their contract material is being supplied as imported wheat distillers, keeping markets tight. Production comes and goes, so it may be very different next week!  Rapeseed and soya are both much dearer on the spot market than for next winter. There are long delays in getting soya shipped from South America and Europe is still starved of new crop beans. Massive late plantings in the USA have helped the market and we are hoping future prices will drop further. So, if you are thinking of buying proteins forward it could pay to be patient. Similarly with oilseed rape, spot prices are very high with limited availability but as we move into August and new crop seed becomes available prices come crashing down. Until new crop soya arrives from the US in November, oilseed rape is by far the most cost effective protein.

Soya hulls are still the best value HDF raw material about with supplies of citrus pulp and sugar beet being tight and therefore relatively expensive. Molasses prices are also forecast to rise later this year with tightening supplies in the main exporting countries.

Looking forward, maize gluten could be back on the menu this winter and at the moment looks quite attractively priced against competing products.

Speaking at the commissioning of the new £1.3million manufacturing facility at Carrs Billington’ Lancaster Mill, Duncan expanded on the benefits to milk producers and consumers.

“Dairy cows waste around 75% of the protein they consume, which means that a 100 cow herd would excrete the equivalent of 80t of protein every year. This is incredibly wasteful, expensive for farmers and there is increasing pressure from government to reduce our carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. Potentially this loss could reduced to 70t with improved nutrition and have no adverse effect on production.

Les Berghorn, general manager of the US AminoMax operation, comments how dairy diets in the USA are usually around 16% protein, with some high yielding herds now feeding below 15% protein. This compares to an average of 18% protein in the diet of British dairy cattle. The US manufacturing facility was constructed by Carrs Milling Industries at Watertown in New York State and in the two years since commissioning has built production upto 50 000t per year and feeds over 100 000 cows, testament to the quality of the product and the science behind it.

“Forage plays a part but feeding the cow proteins that contain the optimum balance of amino acids will improve efficiency and profitability in dairy herds. AminoMax-Pro can be uniquely tailored to balance an individual farms amino acid requirements by blending protected rape and soya in the perfect combination. The Lancaster process uses 400 sensor checkpoints to ensure guaranteed product quality and reliable consistency,” added Rae Tomlinson, Managing Director of Carrs Billington who was present to oversee the commissioning process.

Duncan Rose added his thoughts on milk production in the Carrs Billington trading area this summer. “We have seen huge variability in grass growth rates with land that was grazed by sheep, cold, exposed and suffered from soil panning last year suffering the most.

Early silage cuts were down 30% on last year. Recent first cuts seemed on average to be around 10% less than 2012 but they are drier and therefore actual dry matter in the clamps should be similar.

Most cows have lifted in milk since turnout but high yielding herds, coming off good first cut silage and high concentrates, have wobbled when they have had to rely too heavily on grazed grass.”

“Butterfats have dropped recently,” notes Duncan, “ in cows relying heavily on grazing this is because the grass is low in fibre and high in sugar and unsaturated oil which all reduce the fat content of milk. Where cows are still housed butterfat drops could be down to heat stress which reduces appetite and especially forage consumption. If cattle can’t get enough water or salt, this can also lead to problems. We have also had a lot of comments about unusually low urea levels in milk, less than 150mg/kg. Where cows are milking well this need not be a concern, the very high sugar levels in grass are mopping up the excess protein in grass and therefore less protein is being wasted.

Using AminoMax-Pro offers us the opportunity to significantly cut the amount of protein we feed year round which will benefit the cow, the farmer’s pocket and the environment.

For further information contact

Duncan Rose; duncan.rose@carrs-billington.com

Rae Tomlinson; rae.tomlinson@carrs-billington.com

Les Berghorn; lesb@aminomax.com

or click on our AminoMax Page

Duncan Rose has some answers

Carrs Billington have received many calls from farmers who are seeing low milk ureas (less than 180mg/l) in dairy herds that are grazing full time. Why is this and are the cows short

The weekly grass tests show that protein levels in grass are where we would expect them for the time of year. The recent hot weather has helped produce very high sugar levels in the grass, what we believe has happened is that this high fermentable carbohydrate supply is helping the rumen microflora to capture and utilise this rumen degradable protein. This means less non protein nitrogen is passing into the bloodstream and so milk urea levels are lower than usual. The cow is using the grass protein much more efficiently and less protein is being wasted, which is good news.

Provided cows are milking well, then low ureas need not be a concern, indeed cows in the USA typically run with much lower milk urea levels, 150mg/l or less, compared with the 250 – 300mg/l we usually see here.

of protein?

The weekly milk from grass figures produced by Frank Wright/ Trouw Nutrition International, (Click here for figures) show that there is plenty of milk to be had from grass. Good energy and protein levels suggest that on average milk producers could be looking at M+15 litres from grazing, although there is wide variation between farms.

Duncan Rose, Carrs Billington’s Chief Technical Officer, comments

“I have been getting a lot of phone calls about low butterfats in the last week. Where grazed grass dominates the diet it is easy to explain, high sugars + low NDF (fibre) + high unsaturated oil = low butterfats. If it is a concern add some dry, long fibre into the diet and try a higher digestible fibre cake such as Buttergold or Mac.

However, I have also had comments about low butterfats in housed herds with no apparent change in diet! Possible reasons include

1) Heat stress which depresses feed intakes. Less forage eaten means lower butterfats.

2) Water and salt intakes need to rise to account for increased sweating, check whether you cows have enough of both

3) Increased use of high unsaturated oil distillers and brewers products in a TMR.

To promote butterfat production control the use of distillers’ products, add more salt, increase NDF levels but reduce starch content. This will reduce the energy density of the diet but adding protected fats will compensate.”

“Remember to reverse the changes when it gets cooler!”

Click here for our online shop http://www.carrs-billington.com/farm-supplies/

They show a significant improvement in predicted grass intakes and milk yields from forage than those seen a couple of weeks ago. On average good milk producers could be getting maintenance plus 15 litres from grass, which is what we would normally expect for the time of year. Unsaturated oil content is starting to rise so keep an eye on butterfats, particularly if you are on a constituent contract.

It is important to state that conditions still vary widely from farm to farm and we would recommend that you call Carrs Billington to analyse your grass and assess how much milk your grazing could support.

Over 25 000 people enjoyed a great day out at the Northumberland County Show on Monday. We welcomed seeing so many Carrs Billington customers visiting our stand to admire the impressive display of machinery and enjoy some hospitality, as the pictures show.

Congratulations to Tom Lee, Hexham Branch delivery driver, who received his long service award in the main ring, just before the grand parade.

Why not pop along to our new look Country Store at Rosehill Carlisle on Saturday,  for some special offers.

And on Monday, Why not come along to the Northumberland County Show, for a great family day out

This year the show is at a new venue, the home of Lord and Lady Allendale at Bywell, near Stocksfield. “Everything is coming together really well and the show will look fantastic in a beautiful parkland setting,” continues Chris. “There is good access from both the A69 and A68 and we have high hopes that we will beat last year’s 25 000 visitors.”

Carrs Billington is teaming up with Krone to bring an impressive display of machinery to the show. The full range of Krone grassland equipment will be there on the day, from balers and tedders to the massive Big X self propelled forage harvester. Carrs Billington has recently acquired the franchise for CAT telehandlers and these will also be on display.

There is a wide variation between farms and regions, please contact Carrs Billington if you would like your grazing tested and discover how much milk you could be getting from your forage