Will Kirby and partner Jackie along with Scott run Linton Woods Dam in Linton on Ouse, York.
Their busy cattle enterprise is built on buying good value store cattle, mostly from Ottley in the back end and finishing them the following year, supplying to Kepak and ABP in York, according to demand.
Will buys mainly dairy and continental x steers, along with a few pure bred, and at weights ranging from 200 – 400kg. He finds these animals best suit his system and have the potential to give the best return. He tops numbers up by buying in finishing cattle throughout the year.
Will works closely with our local Harbro beef specialist, Michael Richardson who designs rations to maximise performance using home grown forages and locally sourced raw materials where possible. With no grain grown on farm, Will buys in pre-treated Maxammon barley from a nearby Harbro Maxammon hub in Easingwold which forms a large part of both the growing and finishing rations. Michael recommended Maxammon to Will a few years ago to help improve DLWG as well as grading and Will has never looked back.
Maxammon is a tried and tested soya free grain treatment process. Barley, wheat, maize and oats can be treated along with wholecrop, straw and pulses. The process results in the following benefits: improved protein of cereal (reducing bought in protein costs), improved DLWG – with animals finishing faster and heavier, and improved diet digestibility, all leading to improved profit on farm.
The store ration includes Maxammon treated barley, biscuit meal, and wheat distillers to balance the silage. Michael told us “it’s a simple diet that’s easy to make, and the cattle take to it very well as soon as they come on to farm recording good consistent weight gain.”
They go out in the spring and come back in to the finishing shed at about 450 – 480kg. For ease of management and continuity for the cattle, the finishing ration is similar to the store ration, with the addition of potatoes, and a mix of silages including Lucerne and red clover, and with Harbro minerals including RumiTech. RumiTech improves feed conversion, which in turn reduces cost/kg gain, and helps to keep the diet cost effective.
Will told us, “The cattle consistently perform well with most achieving R classifications, and they look good on the ration. We’re very grateful for the support Michael and the team gives us in terms of designing diets, monitoring performance, and analysing raw materials and hope to improve our performance and efficiency even further in the future.”