FOUR key trace elements are helping a Pembrokeshire sheep flock to get more protein and energy naturally from pasture.

At Windsor Farm, Lamphey, the Phillips family run 2,000 breeding ewes, predominately Suffolk-cross mules.

The Suffolk-cross ewes lamb from January 20th and achieve 170% lambs weaned. The percentage is higher – 190% - in the Welsh Mules; these ewes lamb from the beginning of March.

Grass is integral to the system at Windsor Farm.

Independent grassland expert Gareth Davies said lamb producers can finish a large number of lambs off grass by matching grass demand to the grass growth curve.

“It is possible to finish huge numbers of lambs off grass, 65-70% within 12 weeks, straight off ewes with no concentrates at all,’’ he said. “That’s a fantastically efficient way of doing it. It’s not about cutting creep out and accepting poor performance, it’s doable.’’

But this can only be achieved with the right trace element balance. Aled Davies, deputy managing director at Animax Ltd, said a farm may have good grass covers but this is of little benefit if an animal can’t make use of the energy and protein in the grass.

Animals need adequate levels of copper, selenium, iodine and cobalt to tap into these.

At Windsor Farm, ewes are given a slow-release trace element bolus at scanning. Andrew Phillips, who farms with his parents, David and Ruth, said since adopting this system, ewes are in better condition and lambs more lively at birth.

“Lambs get up and suck and they are more vigorous when they are born. We have fitter lambs when we turn them out, we have more healthy lambs on the ground.

“We used to use a lot of mineral buckets but we couldn’t be sure that every animal had taken what it needed. When you put a bucket in a field you don’t know if a ewe has taken it or not, whether she has had the benefit.’’

To better understand the trace element needs of livestock, Gareth urges every farmer to adopt a soil testing policy. “There is a synergy between everything. If soil is high in molybdenum it can lock up copper. High zinc can also have a depressing effect on copper,’’ he said.

“An excess of sulphur can deplete an uptake of selenium and if iodine levels in the soil are low, treat the animal.’’

Gareth said a key to maximising grazing systems is good management. “Grass can be the cheapest feed source, you can grow large quantities of it and it can be high quality but only if it is managed properly. Another advantage of grass is that livestock seem to like eating it.’’