Cefnllan Project Update

Hefin Richards from Rumenation has been working on project work with Neil during the past three years to draw up rations for the cattle at Cefnllan. The housed growing cattle diet is based on a high forage ration and then a higher starch ration is given to accelerate finishing period to minimise the time on the farm. Silage quality is an important factor for the beef enterprise at Cefnllan with red clover in the swards to target high D (digestibility) value and protein. In addition to the silage, there are under-sown cereals, which provides forage-based starch to the cattle. As much as possible is grown on the farm, with any gaps in the ration bought in. During the summer, multiple cuts of silage were done (clamp and bales), with a silage analysis done by Hefin on three cuts.  

Table 1. 2022 Silage analysis

As seen in Table 1, the first cut was disappointing in crude protein compared to the other two cuts and all three cuts had a D value above 70.  The grower ration drawn up consisted of the clamp and bale silage, minerals and a blend, with the blend manufactured to order and fed at around 1.75kg/head, along with the silage. The cattle will be weighed regularly to allow performance to be monitored closely.