Knowledgebase
Kingshay's Knowledgebase - Farming Notes
Water usage on dairy farms is considerably higher than that associated with other livestock enterprises. A typical 150 cow herd, averaging 7,500 litres of milk uses appro...
Bovine TB (bTB) continues to be a major problem with approximately 11% of herds in England affected by bTB in 2017. The latest DEFRA statistics show there were 3,824 new ...
The building design and layout on your farm can have a massive effect on the productivity, health and well-being of your herd. Where facilities are not ideal, cow stress ...
Bulk feeds are a useful ingredient in rations for both improving the efficiency of forages and for substitution where there is a forage shortfall. Co-products from the ...
Natural service can save time and money, but a poorly performing bull can be costly if conception rates are low. Is your bull in peak form? With up to 33% of bulls though...
Milk cheques are becoming increasingly influenced by milk butterfat levels, which makes avoiding the typical milk fat depression seen at turn-out vital. However, ensuring...
The financial incentive for butterfat levels is highly variable and will depend on milk contract. For most contracts, increasing butterfat percentage must not be at the ...
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle caused by the pestivirus. It causes huge losses in terms of reduced herd health, fertility, pr...
Do you see a lot of milk fevers in your herd? Do you have problems with retained cleansings? Calcium and phosphorus are two of the most important minerals, particularly ...
It is estimated that more than 6% of calves die before they reach six months of age, most of these losses occur in the first month of the calves’ life and many are a re...
Kingshay's Youngstock Management Survey showed that 87% of farmers have seen cases of calf pneumonia and 50% joint ill on their farm. Good calf management is crucial if a...
Traditional calf feeding practice limits milk fed to encourage early intakes of concentrates and promote earlier weaning, to cut feed costs and labour. Recent research ho...