NBA Winter Magazine_2023_

“With the Vector, every
animal gets the same feed
because there is always
fresh feed available.”
Since installing a Lely Vector, days to slaughter have
been cut by seven days at Montilly Farm, Tyrone, and
daily running costs have been slashed.
The Vector feeding system was installed
in January 2020 to reduce labour
requirements.
Previously David Millar, who farms in
partnership with his father Ian, spent
three hours feeding animals with a trailed
forage wagon. With two farm
enterprises to balance, the Millars were
considering employing someone.
“We worked out we would have to keep
150 cattle and make £100/head to
employ one person part-time, but the
beef wasn’t making any money at that
time,” admits David.
Increasingly tight margins made David
consider how improvements could be
made. He was drawn to the fact the
Vector fed little and often and could be
pre-programmed to deliver multiple
rations to different pens.
Rations
At Montilly, stores are purchased from
local markets aged 16-18 months and are
taken through to finishing. Animals graze
from April to November but all finishing
cattle are housed for the final 60-90 days.
Previously, three diets were fed – one per
shed but now five rations are fed by the
Vector across the farm’s three beef
buildings.
“It wasn’t conducive to feed four rations inside
one shed using the diet feeder, but now I
could feed 16 if I wanted to,” explains David.
These five rations include a store ration
comprising straw, silage and concentrate; a
starter ration which includes a higher amount
of concentrate; and three finishing rations
which in addition to silage and concentrate
utilise fodder beet and homegrown maize.
The Vector has allowed David to target
rations to different ages and breeds more
effectively to reduce overall feed costs.
“The Vector gives us the flexibility to feed
different rations. For example, the Aberdeen
Anguses get 1kg less meal than the
continentals and the bullocks are given more.”
Benefits
“The Vector is currently costing £10/day to
run and is feeding 370 cattle”, says David. He
says this is one-third of the labour costs
associated with feeding, based on it taking
three hours and costing £10/hour.
The Vector pushes up and feeds hourly which
has reduced stress. “When the Vector went in,
my sister said the yard was much quieter.
Before, when the tractor started up, the cattle
would ball because they knew it was feeding
time. Now they are fed hourly, and they
always have access to feed.”
The Vector has eliminated bullying and
improved the consistency of growth rates,
too. Previously, David said the daily
liveweight gain of cattle within the same
pen would range from 0.5kg to 1.7kg/day
because smaller animals would be bullied
from the feed fence by larger animals. But
now finishing animals average a consistent
1.6kg/day. “With the Vector, every animal
gets the same feed because there is always
fresh feed available.”
Improved feed intakes are resulting in
better growth which means faster
turnaround, with animals finishing seven
days earlier, on average. With feed costing
£2.50/head/day this equates to savings of
£17.50/head/week (nearly £10,000
annually across 550 beasts).
Quicker turnaround of animals also means
it has freed space for an additional 50
animals to be finished annually which is
further contributing to healthier margins.
Farm facts:
·Finishing 550 Aberdeen Angus and
continental cattle annually, mostly heifers
with some bullocks.
·Aberdeen Anguses sold to Tesco and the
continentals sold to Foyle.
·Rear 50,000 layers from one day old to the
point of lay for Moy Park.
·Farming 390 acres; predominantly grass
with 30 acres of forage maize grown.
Bright farming is yours by choice!
For more information contact your local Lely Center.
www.lely.com/gb/your-lely-center