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APHIS update to be mobile-friendly
DAERA officials are working on an update to APHIS online so that it is more user friendly on smartphones and tablets, DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has said.
“Further changes to enhance its (APHIS online’s) operability on mobile phones and tablets are planned to be released to farmers by May 2020,” he said in response to a written question from Ulster Unionist MLA Rosemary Barton.
Study questions energy requirements in sheep
The nutritional requirements of sheep may be underestimated in calculations that are used to formulate rations, according to new research.
Scientists at the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) used data from five experiments that involved measuring the energy intake and output of sheep in individual calorimeter chambers.
The study, published in scientific journal Animal, found that energy requirements for maintenance were between 40% to 53% higher than previously thought.
Underestimating
The AFBI scientists state that the calculations used for formulating rations in the UK were developed over 40 years ago and they could be underestimating the current energy requirements of sheep.
“There is an urgent need to update these systems to reflect the higher metabolic rates,” the research paper reads.
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