On Thursday May 12th, Agritech are delighted to be attending one of Ireland’s biennial national grassland technology events, FTMTA Grass and Muck 2016. Attendance in 2014 reached an impressive 9,500. Again this year, it is taking place at Gurteen Agricultural College Balingarry, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Admission is €15 per adult which includes free parking, silage making demos among many other working machinery demonstrations.

Agritech will be located in the trade village where visitors can speak to our grass and re-seeding experts and view our latest product range. Watch out for our branded flags and be sure to come visit us on the day!

Get more information about the FTMTA Grass and Muck 2016 event and how to get tickets here.

Horses are extremely tight grazers of grass and the mixture composition should take account of this.  Sward density, hard wearing, and an even production of grass throughout the growing season with the option for a hay or haylage crop are key criteria in choosing a suitable mixture.

The benefits of reseeding are long documented, however Teagasc figures show that only 2-3% of all agricultural pastures are reseeded annually. This means that many pastures are over run with weed species leading to unproductive paddocks.

Reseeding of paddocks should be carried out where there has been excessive damage from poaching, the makeup of the current species is dominated by weed grasses or the quality of the forage produced from these paddocks is poor due to excessive grazing or constant cutting.

A typical paddock mixture should contain diploid varieties of perennial ryegrass with low sugar content together with creeping red fescue, timothy and smooth stalked meadow grass which will give a verstile mixture of nutrient rich grass species and capable of binding the sward for greater repair of the ground from hoof damage.

If choosing mixtures solely for the production of haylage, a mixture of perennial ryegrass together with hybrid ryegrass will give a high yielding mixture for multiple cuts in the year.

A further step in exploiting the potential of grass has been achieved through the application of biological seed stimulants.  All mixtures in the Tipperary range of grass mixtures from Agritech are GroQuik® dressed to improve seedling establishment by accelerating germination and root development. GroQuik® was originally proven at London University to improve the establishment of the grass crop by 20%. According to Agritech’s Technical Director, Seamus O’Slatarra, “It is through extensive in-house research and trials, GroQuik® has been further enhanced with the addition of numerous additional bio stimulants to the dressing. The end result today is that the benefits of the Gro-Quik® dressing are now persisting for years rather than months post establishment”.

This article was published in The Irish Field (Saturday April 30th 2016)

Agritech recommend our Tipperary Grass – Horse Grazing mixture.

Formulated to cater for diverse needs providing nutritious, persistent and palatable pastures.

• Suitable for hay, haylage or as a grazing mixture.

• Minimal poaching damage due to inclusion of perennial ryegrass, strong creeping red fescue, timothy and smooth stalked meadow grass.

• GroQuik® seed stimulant dressed for improved germination and establishment with benefits seen long beyond sowing and establishment.

For more information and to buy Horse Grazing mixture, contact your local distributor.

Read more about our Tipperary Grass range.

In a recent interview in the Irish Farmers Journal, Agritech’s technical director Seamus O’Slatarra talked about how silage additives have evolved in recent years and why using additives are an essential ingredient in getting the most from grass silage. Additives work by retaining silage quality as close as possible to the grass being harvested and aim to avoid ensiling losses.

There is also ample data to show that milk protein, live weight gain and dry matter ensiling benefits from the use of a reputable silage additive. Indeed, Agritech’s GrasZyme SugarBoost Forage Additive for grass silage has been developed for effective grass preservation with animal performance as its primary focus.

Read the full article on the Irish Farmers Journal website.

Or view a pdf of the article (208kB).

Agritech is renowned for quality grass seed mixtures. The Tipperary range is formulated to deliver high production, digestibility, palatability and persistency, with the Tipperary 4A mixture Agritech’s premium flag bearer. These essential characteristics give farmers the highest return available from their investment in reseeding. The end result is increased animal performance.

Grass seed assembly is the backbone of Agritech. They have long recognised that the key criteria in the assembly of grass mixtures is including varieties that complement each other, coupled with optimum levels of clover. New Teagasc research has confirmed that cows grazing tetraploid varieties and clover based swards yield significantly increased levels of milk. Furthermore, recent research is coming round to the Agritech opinion that tetraploid varieties are persistent and that groundcover is not a correct barometer of persistence after all. Our flagship mixture Tipperary 4A has, since its initial formulation in 1977, been based on the inclusion of adequate levels of tetraploids coupled with 1kg of clover.

Another key step in exploiting the potential of grass, achieved by Agritech, is the application of biological seed stimulants to every grass seed in all of the mixtures. The GroQuik® seed dressing is specifically designed to improve seedling establishment by accelerating germination and root development in both ryegrasses and clover. GroQuik® was originally demonstrated at London University to improve the establishment of the grass crop by 20%. Through extensive in-house research and trials, Agritech have continued to enhance GroQuik® with the addition of further bio stimulants to the dressing. The end result for farmers today is that the benefits of GroQuik® in grass swards persist for years post-establishment.

View Tipperary Grass brochure here

We’re putting together a series of Management Guidelines for advice on topics including Mineral Supplementation, Grass Management and Calving. The latest ones we’ve added to our website focus on Calf Management, Milk Replacer Feeding Guidelines and the technology behind our Vitalac range of Milk Replacers.

Successful calf rearing requires an understanding of the basic principles, as well as experience and good observation skills. At Agritech, we understand the challenges of the newborn calf and work with leaders in calf nutrition to bring an excellent range of calf milk replacers for the stable and efficient rearing of calves. The Vitalac range from Nukamel offers a well-balanced level of highly digestible fat and protein via carefully selected, high quality ingredients.

Milk Replacer is a consistent quality feed to meet the growth and development targets of the young calf. It reduces disease risk to the calf from antibiotics/mastitis milk, prevents disease transmission (Para-tuberculosis, Salmonella, Mycoplasma Bovis), ensures the calf gets probiotics, and the vitamins and minerals needed for maintaining healthy tissues, immune response and growth.

Table: Nutritional composition of Calf Milk Replacer vs Cow Milk (As % DM)

We’ve also come up with a Healthy Calf Checklist (0.4MB Download) to use when purchasing calves.

See our full list of Management Guidelines.

For more information about our products or to talk to us, contact our Head Office or your local Agritech Distributor.

We are going to be at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn on 10th December 2015. This is Northern Ireland’s premier indoor event in the dairy farming sector and we’re excited to welcome you to our stand.

There will be strong messages coming from exhibitors at this year’s Winter Fair on all topics of high priority in our modern farming systems for increased milk yields, greater production efficiencies, and optimum herd health. Farmers demand more from their stock and recognise that this can only be achieved through expert management techniques and quality inputs. And that’s where we can help you.

Calf Health

At Agritech, we continue to introduce improved products to our portfolio in response to farmer’s requirements and herd health is at the centre of our universe. Herd health must begin from the moment the calf is born and that is why we have dedicated so much effort to bring a high quality Milk Replacer such as Vitalac to the market. Tried and tested by Teagasc at Grange Research Institute, Vitalac showed increases in live weight gain and concentrate intake of 8% and 10% over other leading brands on the market. The Vitalac range of Milk Replacers are whey-based, recommended for the stable and efficient rearing of dairy calves. Come find out more about the Vitalac range at our stand.

Housing management

We have also developed products outside of feeding supplements and recently introduced ‘Sanitise’ to the market which we will be demonstrating at the Winter Fair. Sanitise Bedding Conditioner is a housing and bedding conditioning solution to promote a dry hygienic environment in the bedding of all livestock. The importance of a dry lying area has been the force behind development of this product and is the foundation for success in the fight against disease causing bacteria which are present in the animal lying areas from leaked milk, uterine discharges, urine, faeces, animal perspiration and humidity. In addition, this product goes above and beyond traditional methods due to the inclusion of essential oils, a hoof conditioner and a low application rate.

Many of our representatives will be on the stand at Pavilion 2, Stand number 227 so be sure to pop in for a chat on 10th December. Team Agritech look forward to seeing you.

Changes in the mineral profiles of grass and grass silages coupled with animal genetic advances over the past twenty years have placed greater demands on the mineral supplements being supplied to farm animals.

The ongoing challenge of producing a live calf per cow every 365 days coupled with optimum health and performance of mother and calf serves to highlight the importance of ensuring that a quality mineral is supplied from the beginning of the dry period at least until the cow is confirmed back in calf.

The anticipated increased milk yields of the post quota era undoubtedly place even greater mineral demands on the dairy cow. With regard to the production of beef, the constant strive for improved growth rates and feed efficiency further serve to highlight the importance of ensuring that the growing and finishing animal is adequately supplemented with all of the key minerals and vitamins which are required for optimum output from this production system. At Agritech we continue to advance our Welmin mineral range and supplements with the assistance of international sources and global research so that Irish farmers have access to a truly superior range of products.

Download our new Welmin Mineral information booklet here