Spring is a good time to reflect on the experiences of the last twelve months, identifying ways to maximise profit from each part of your farm system and identify areas for improvement.
Some of you had the best two-tooth and ewe scanning results in many years. This is likely to be related to better live weights and Body Condition Score (BCS) at tupping or trace element supplementation. So how did this happen and what can you do to replicate the result in 2025? For others, there was a lack of soil moisture in the autumn resulting in less autumn and winter feed. Are you able to address some of the causes, or plan to have feed available at critical times to reduce the impact on your farm system?
Capital stock (all female replacements and breeding stock) needs to be allowed to perform as efficiently as possible, as they require maintenance feeding for 365 days of the year. There are some unavoidable factors. An underweight ewe hogget either consumes a lot more high-quality grass to make two-tooth tupping weight targets or perform sub-optimally. Both come at a cost. For most farm systems I observe, it is the tail-enders or low BCS animals that are holding back farm performance. Perhaps you can wean the same number of lambs from fewer, optimally fed ewes? If ewe BCS is low, then fattening more lambs in preference to allocating that feed for the ewes is likely to be robbing you of ewe productivity.
Autumn-grazed forage crops can be a great means of conserving grass, providing high-quality feed, and reducing worm population. The benefits include higher growth rates in trading stock as well as higher BCS in ewes for tupping. Lifting the BCS of the tail end ewes or increasing tupping weights in two tooths will help increase the number and live weight of lambs at weaning.
The reduced returns for lamb in the past year has reinforced the importance of your agronomist understanding your plan, identifying feed gaps, and ensuring they are filled with the right product. Do you need to fill an energy or protein deficit, or both? Your neighbour may have a different reason for growing the same forage crop as you do, and both are correct, but you need the best result for your system. Skimping on some inputs to reduce costs may inadvertently lower the dry matter yield, resulting in either stock being underfed or the early sale of store stock.
PGG Wrightson is here to help make the right decisions. Your PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative has access to a specialist technical team with the latest knowledge in animal nutrition, health, and worm management; pasture, forage, and cereal agronomy; soil management and fertiliser advice, to support your farming business and help grow the country.
For reliable advice and tailored solutions on boosting your farm’s performance this spring, contact your local PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative.
