| Livestock
Use technology to boost returns
The next three to five years will be all about efficiency – part of which is embracing new technology and ensuring you
make the most of all farm data to raise profitability on your unit.
hat’s the view of
Rob Massey,
Managing Director
of Tru-Test, a
solutions-based
business,
specialising in weighing, EID and
fencing for all farming situations.
“It’s a fact that only 10% of UK
livestock farmers weigh anything –
yet, if you were harvesting grain,
you‘d never sell it off the farm
without knowing what it weighed,”
he says. “The only gauge is the
market or abattoir, but by then it’s
too late – you’ve missed any
opportunity to get it right.
“When you have a worm
burden, lameness, mastitis or any
disease issue you’ll see a dip in
growth rates. But, if you aren’t
monitoring them, and you’re just
guessing weights, there’s room for
a huge margin of error.”
Rob says the days of writing
data in the dust of a tractor, or on
the back of a fag packet, should
be long gone. “Data is king. It
should drive every aspect of your
farm business. We have the tools
to become more efficient, we just
aren’t using them properly.”
T
He says he’s seen examples of
farmers asked to ‘guess’ the
weight of a live animal at a
demonstration, and that with dairy
and beef cattle they can be up to
200kgs out. “No other business
would not measure output. Dairy
farmers know what milk they are
sending off farm, but liveweight
gain is another matter altogether.
“I don’t understand this
reluctance to embrace technology.
I think a lot of it is tradition – ‘my
grandfather or my father’ always
did it this way. We’re not
mathematicians so we have
calculators – and in this case,
there shouldn’t be a farm without
an ability to weigh the stock.”
Rob accepts there is a massive
issue with wormer resistance, for
example, and says giving the right
dosage – which is based on
weight – is one of the key reasons
behind this.
“You don’t have to buy top end
products, honestly anything is
better than nothing. A measuring
stick or a weigh tape are not exact
science, but better to use either of
these than your eye.”
He says you will get back any
money invested in weighing
equipment inside a year. You’ll
save money on inputs such as
wormers and vaccinations, and will
get heifers back on track bulling
and calving at the right weights.
“The average calving age is 28
months at best, with a calving
index average over 400 when it
should be 365. These ‘losses’
represent huge costs to a dairy
farm, and using the right
technology can so easily improve
margins.”
There needs to be a ‘mindset
change’ with producers embracing
new technology, regardless of their
farming system. “They should be
asking ‘what does it save’ not
‘what does it cost’,” he adds.
Looking ahead, he says the
majority of farmers are waiting for
EID to become compulsory, rather
than considering the savings it can
offer.
“It can offer huge cost savings,”
he says. “Just one kg of liveweight
gain over an animal’s lifetime will
increase returns by £1.50 to £2 a
beast. It’s a ridiculously small
amount of cost when you consider
what it will give you back.
“This isn’t about saying that
farmers aren’t good at judging the
weight of their animals, it’s about
making their life easier, and
ensuring they use the latest
technology to best effect. Make life
easier by investing in the future, so
you make the right, and accurate,
business decisions.”
*Some of Tru-Test’s weighing
and EID solutions, as well as the
range of PEL electric fencing, will
be on stand i27 at Dairy-Tech,
Stoneleigh Park on February 7.
Crucial step forward for
beef exports to China
An agreement to progress lifting the BSE ban on British
beef exports to China is a vital first step in unlocking this
major market, which could be worth £250 million in the
first five years, according to AHDB.
ew measures to
improve market
access to Ch ina
were announced
by Prime Minister
Theresa May this
week – in a move which could see
beef from the UK exported to the
country for the first time in over 20
years.
It is anticipated the BSE ban
could be lifted within six months if
a visit from Chinese inspectors this
spring is successful, clearing the
way for detailed discussions and
the completion of a five-step
process to open the Chinese
market to British beef.
The news has been welcomed
by AHDB, which has been working
on the market access in the region
for a number of years, and is good
news for exporters keen to look to
new, non-EU markets.
AHDB Head of Exports Peter
Hardwick said: “The
announcement is a vital first step
in unlocking this major market for
beef without which we could not
progress to the substantive
approval process.
“This agreement comes after an
intensive programme of
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24 | Farming Monthly | February 2018
inspections and visits by the
Chinese authorities over the last
two years, led by AHDB in
collaboration with government and
industry organisation.
“It is still an ongoing process
but we will continue to play a key
role in helping to steer discussions
to ensure we unlock the full
potential of the Chinese market for
beef producers here in the UK.”
The announcement came on
the first day of the Prime Minister’s
three-day trade mission to Beijing,
where she was joined by senior
business leaders and industry
representatives including AHDB
Chief Executive Officer Jane King.
During her visit she held
meetings with members of the
Chinese government and other
industry leaders where products
ranging from pork to malting
barley were discussed. Jane
raised the urgency of lifting the
beef ban with both the Prime
Minister Teresa May and Secretary
of State for International Trade
Liam Fox. Both indicated it was a
government priority.
AHDB has previously helped
secure access to China for pork
and for barley.
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