• ACHIEVING A compact calving period of 12 weeks can have a significant impact on beef producers' margins, according to the latest advice from Eblex which claims that extending this period can cost producers in the region of £3.35 per day in feed costs for the empty cow and lost income from calf growth.

  • SOARING COSTS of production on top of a cold, late spring and distinct lack of grass growth have resulted in many farm businesses sinking further into the red.

  • WITH DEMAND for blends soaring, Trident's Neil Woolf is advising new blend buyers to focus on quality ingredients to maximise value.

  • A NOVEL copper source is now being used in Harbro supplements.

  • THERE'S BEEN vigorous debate aabout the future of distillers' feeds, involving all levels of the Scottish livestock farming industry, from individual farmers to the Scottish government commissioning a special study from the Scottish Agricultural College.

  • EXPERTS ARE warning that magnesium deficiency in dairy cows and lactating ewes could be a real problem at turnout this spring because so much of the mineral has leached out from pastures this year.

  • POOR WEATHER over the last year has had a major impact on spring calving suckler cows throughout the country, with many struggling to maintain condition.

  • This year feed stocks may be running short and livestock farmers may be forced to turn stock out earlier than usual.

  • THERE HAS been a 10-fold increase in acute liver fluke cases in sheep in the last quarter of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, according to figures reported in the latest NADIS (National Animal Disease Information Service) Parasite Forecast.

  • HEALTH AND hygiene are important factors in maintaining properly managed livestock units but bringing livestock in from elsewhere can unwittingly introduce disease into many hitherto 'clean' herds.