• Tag pin improvements boost sheep welfare, retention and management

    Improvements to ear tag design by a leading Scottish manufacturer look to have countered some of the key welfare and tag retention problems experienced by sheep farmers.

  • SBV losses hit scanner service

    LAMB LOSSES to the Schmallenberg Virus in England have caused the SRUC to cancel a scheduled trip south for its mobile CT scanning unit.

  • Block out starvation!

    STRATEGIC USE of feed blocks, could help sheep producers concerned about ewe and lamb nutrition because of a shortage of early spring grass, says a leading feed company.

  • Get the magnesium right for sucklers

    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.

  • Profitable lamb production in the spotlight at Eblex workshops

    BENCHMARKING PHYSICAL performance and costings in order to optimise flock output will be the focus of a series of in-depth workshops being delivered by Eblex in April and May.

  • Measuring ewe efficiency

    Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help sheep farmers benchmark their animal performance compared with previous years and other flocks.

  • EID tracking hopes to reduce black loss

    EID in sheep has been the bane of many sheep farmers' lives in recent years, but it looks set to hold the key to solving the unexplained disappearance of sheep – known as black loss – on hill farms throughout Scotland.

  • Integrating silage and grazing on beef and sheep farms

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

  • Improving damaged swards a must for grazing season

    Following the difficulties experienced in 2012, the potential of many grass swards to deliver the sort of production to which many would normally aspire have probably been compromised by surface poaching and sub-surface compaction.

  • Keeping on top of coccidiosis

    LONG TERM protection against coccidiosis is something farmers should be gearing up to offer their sheep flocks in the approach to lambing.