SUMMARY
- Mullaley NSW
- 250+ Angus cattle located on northwest slopes
- Dramatic growth rate decline identified
- Confirmation of nutritional deficiency (despite pasture bulk)
- Validation of expert nutritional calculations with enhanced data set
- Effective intervention and real-time monitoring of management response
“We are lucky to have Optiweigh units in client’s paddocks and we get to closely monitor growth rates. Here at AHN, we are interested in matching the animal’s needs to the feed base and most systems in NSW experience a gap in feed quality in autumn. We call this the ’Autumn Feed Gap’ (AFG) and although we talk about it a lot, we’ve never been able measure its effects (up close in real time) like we can with the Optiweigh unit.” Dr Jillian Kelly, AHN Consulting
Background
In this case study there were 256 Angus cattle on a mix of tropical and native pastures on the north-west slopes of NSW. There was a shower of rain on the 20th of February and following that was a series of days above 36C.
As you can see from the Optiweigh screen shots below, the cattle growth rates were consistently 1.2kg/day over summer and the mob average was increasing, until the 20th of February. At this point the ADG drops from 1.2kg/day to 0.1kg/day overnight as the green feed turned brown, ruined by the ineffective rainfall and hot weather.
Analysis
When Dr Jillian Kelly, from AHN visited the farm, the pasture was assessed to be above 60% NDF, around 7MJ ME/kg DM and around 8% Crude Protein. Although there was plenty of bulk, the quality of the grass was inadequate for the 315kg average cattle. Their faeces were stacked up like pyramids and there was no visible green left in the pasture.
Management Response
With a mix of dry lick supplementation and the addition of supplementary feed to the diet, the feed gap was managed to cost effectively increase the weight gain. And with some cooler weather, rain, and temperate growth, we can the see the herd rebound in weight gains back to 1.1kg/day to achieve the year-round production this farm targets.
“The Optiweigh was such a valuable tool in this case to identify a nutritional gap within days of it occurring, instigate nutritional improvements and monitor the response to see if we met our aims.
“It’s also nice when the calculations match the Optiweigh data.
It helps us get better and better at our jobs – whether you’re a nutritionist or a livestock manager”
Dr Jillian Kelly, AHN Consulting
PO BOX 100 Coonamble NSW 2829
Ph 0408 331 166
Email [email protected]
