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Where you are feeding high levels of meals over winter, this could be a good year to look at the option of buying directly off the combine. Handling barley on-farm is not the dirty, dusty job that it used to be. Large mobile rollers are now available through many contractors around the country.
These machines roll and apply additives to the crop at a rate of up to 30 tonnes per hour. Cost will depend on moisture content of the grain. At 18-20% moisture, you are looking at the acid costing between €8/t to €26/t, with rolling costing a further €12/t to €15/t.
Having adequate storage facilities is important to keep it clean and dry. Rations don’t need to be complicated with too many ingredients – simple barley/soya rations will do a good job on finishing farms.
Open Day Reminder:
An open day will take place on the Irish Farmers Journal Tullamore Farm next Tuesday, 25 July, from 1pm-7pm. All livestock will be on display and live demos will take place in the yard area from 4pm-7pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
The eircode for the event is R35AT81.
Mobility scoring and strong grass growth on Tullamore Farm
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