Ecosyl is the UK’s best selling additive with proven performance over many years. Book before 31st January for an early order discount and be entered in a prize draw for a Honda quad Fortrax.

Ecosyl forage additives will;

• Maintain silage quality
• Reduce losses and spoilage in storage
• Improve forage intakes by on average 5%

Many trials and independent research establishments have shown Ecosyl treated forages can lift milk yield by 1.2 litres per cow per day and increase daily liveweight gain in cattle by 15%

Call your local Carrs Billington branch or our Forage Hotline 0800 0234416 for more details

Support the Newton Rigg Charity Auction

& receive extra help on your farm for a day?

The agricultural students at Newton Rigg College Penrith are doing a charity auction at Penrith Auction Mart, during the store cattle sale on Monday 19th January. Funds raised will go to the North West Air Ambulance. There will be 14 lots of students, sold in lots of 3-5 people to work on your farm/business for day. 
 

Student Auction Monday 19th January 2015

@ Penrith Auction. 

The Next 6 teams……

7. Dream Team. (Georgia, Ellie, Denise (Dennis), Vic, Lindsey); Can drink tea all morning, lean on gates, throw straw about, enjoy a bacon roll, chewing the cud. Good company, good crack. Work like honey bees, do our best, do what we are told!

8. WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get! (Olivia,Charlotte, Thomas, Lucy, Sophie); Girls do livestock, lad does tractors. Work well together, tractor and car licences.

9. Cousins and Cowboys. (Charlotte, Chad, Rory, Matty); Good looking, good grafters, well presented, best with cows. Don’t mind getting stuck in. No whinging. Two with tractor licences.

10. Max, James, Harry, Cameron; All farmer born and bred, good on the farm, better in…. Two stockmen, two tractor drivers.

11. Team Kym. (Kym, Adam, Tom, Owen and Jack); 4 stocksmen, 3 tractor drivers, all hard working.

12. Slit Spreaders. (Donkey, Woooman and Brick); We are all good hard workers. We all have diploma in agriculture engineering. We have all worked on farms and take orders really well. We have a brilliant operator on any machines and equipment , a fella who is great with a loader tractor and a really fast learner you name it he will be able to do it. Brilliant team working skills and have known each other for years.

The first fortnight of 2015 has seen raw material costs easing back slightly after the increases of the latter part of 2014. The big question is whether this is the beginning of a longer term easing in prices, or a pause before pushing on upwards again.

Wheat prices have dropped £9/t since Christmas; the Sterling/Euro exchange rate is not helping exports and at the current pace we will not sell last year’s surplus, so sellers have to be more realistic.

Barley exports are going much better and the usual price difference between what and barley has narrowed. Oats look good value for money, they are £20/t below barley with too much about and too few users.

Maize is increasingly dearer than wheat in the UK, although in Europe it is cheaper than wheat and barley! Shipping across the channel adds to the costs of maize but we expect to be using significant amounts over the next few years.

For the first time since the early Eighties, we have used more distillers products than rapeseed in animal feeds. It shows how competitive biofuels producers have to be to keep their stores moving. Distillers are likely to remain our main protein source this year unless something radically alters.

Soya prices have begun to ease at last and the South American soya crops are looking good at the moment.

There are large crop predictions for all main international commodities in 2015, coming on top of the recovery in stock levels seen in 2014. World weather conditions have been generally good, so as long as we have no nasty scares from weather or politics there is a good chance prices will ease back as we go through 2015.

The use of calf jackets for young calves (between 1 day and 3 weeks old) is becoming increasingly popular and rightly so. Keeping calves warm in the first few weeks of life allows more efficient conversion of milk powder into growing the calves and helps keep them healthy.

 Many calf units can be cold and draughty at this time of year; in this snowy weather contact your local Carrs Billington branch about our calf jackets whilst stocks last.

Newton Rigg Agricultural Student Auction.

Penrith Auction Market Monday 2nd February 10:30am

(postponed from the 19th Jan)

• Come and join us for this special charity auction. A chance to raise money for a vital charity, important to all rural businesses.

• Place your bid to win a team of 3-5 students for a day’s work on your farm!

• Need those lambing pens sorting, mucking out that awkward byer or a good spring clean round the farm?

• All students volunteering a days work to help NW Air Ambulance.

• Beef and sheep specialists, dairy students, tractor drivers or general farm workers. All are keen and willing to help you!

• Help us to raise as much as we can to keep the air ambulance only a phone call away.

Have a look at the teams:

The First 6 teams…… 

The Next 6 teams……

Carrs Billington are at the forefront of innovation in supplying proven products and services for the farming community.

We are pleased to announce a partnership with Kelvin Cave Ltd, the UK’s foremost specialist in the development and supply of home-grown feed preservation and processing systems, to provide a range of effective silage preservatives and ensiling products, crimped and moist grain preservatives and grain processing machinery.

For more information please contact your local Country Store

Agricultural supplier Carrs Billington has been announced as the major sponsor for NSA North Sheep 2015, which is returning to Cumbria for the first time in more than five years.

North Sheep 2015, the sheep sector’s key biennial event will bring together competitions, demonstrations, seminars and around 200 trade stands at Neil and Sally Marston’s Millstone Moor Farm near Cockermouth on June 3.

As a major platform, to share knowledge, new industry developments and products, NSA North Sheep 2015 offers both sponsors and exhibitors the chance to reach a broad cross section of the industry, all in one place.

With its head office in Carlisle, Carrs Billington is at the forefront of innovation in the supply of products such as compound and blended animal feeds, straights, fertilizers, seeds, animal health products, and agrochemicals, as well as services to sheep farmers. Renowned throughout the North, this Cumbrian company has a network of 26 Country Stores, together with professional teams of sales specialists and advisors to support farmers.

Carrs Billington Divisional Sales Manager Ian Oliver tells us why he was so keen to be involved: “This is the major sheep event in the North of the country, and a very important business platform for us. So as the leading supply company and partners to countless farm businesses we are delighted to be involved with NSA North Sheep 2015.”

“Mr Marston is one of our customers, and Cumbria is one of our main trading areas, where we have a large market share of the business. Sponsoring this event gives us the opportunity to give something back to our customers and to thank them for their support. It is also an opportunity to highlight the range and of products and services we offer to a wider audience.”

In addition to Carrs Billington, NSA North Sheep 2015 is being supported by many other organisations familiar to everyone in the sheep sector. The mainline sponsors for 2015 are BWMB & Campaign for Wool, Caltech & Scotmin Nutrition, EBLEX, Elanco Animal Health, Mitchells Auction Company Ltd, Rumenco & Nettex and Shearwell Data.

Full Article on www.stackyard.com

North Sheep 2015 Details

Recent data from the British Survey of Fertiliser Practice shows that 47% of Arable land receives an adequate supply of Sulphur. However, the surprise is that no matter how much data and trial work has been circulated, only a mere 8% of Grassland receives adequate supplies of Sulphur from fertiliser.

For Grass to make True Protein, Magnesium, Sulphur as well as Nitrogen is required.

Sulphur depositions from Winter Snow and Rain are now negligible and can be virtually discounted.

Sulphur use has increased over the past three years but only Arable Rotations recognise a significant lift.

As a result of a lack of applied Sulphur, crops are not realising their true potential in both Yield and Protein content.

Carrs Billington are able to offer both qualified advice and solutions to help maximise all crops.

Contact us today for more information.

North England & Scotland 01228 518860
South England & Wales 01785 760535

Use Ecosyl from Carrs Billington.

 
Ecosyl is the world’s most proven silage additive and the UK’s best selling additive. Using Ecosyl will help:

1. Improve silage fermentation and reduce the fermentation time in your clamp
2. Maintain forage quality
3. Improve silage intakes by 5%
4. Reduce clamp losses
5. Reduce secondary fermentation
6. Reduce moulding and spoilage

Ecosyl has independent trial data showing increased livestock performance and dry matter intakes

1.  15 dairy trials showing an average of 1.2 litres/cow/day increase in milk yield.
2. 19 beef trials producing an average of 11% improvement in daily liveweight gain.
3. 26 feeding trials showing a 5% higher dry matter intake and a 3 D improvement in digestibility, which equates to 0.5 MJ more energy per kg dry matter.

Contact your local Carrs Billington Country Store for more information.

The KC Bruiser 600 will deliver a throughput of traditional, flat-rolled grain for home-grown cereal blends and crimping, at a rate of 7-20 tonnes per hour, depending on grain type and quality. Because of its smaller size, this model is suited to processing grain in more confined situations than the larger and higher capacity model in the range – the KC Bruiser 1250. This makes the Bruiser 600 particularly suited to contractors who wish to take equipment into tight spaces on smaller farms.

However, despite its size and agility, the KC Bruiser 600 features the same heavy-duty 600mm diameter flat rollers as its bigger brother; is fully adjustable to produce exactly the quality of roll required for any situation; and will process any type of grain.

Suitable for crimping grain for ensiling at 30-45% moisture as well as rolling drier grain for aerobic storage, the KC Bruiser range features magnetic protection to remove ferrous metal debris and tough marine-quality paint for long-life protection. It can also be equipped for grain preservative application.

Both models can be fitted with the unique Kelvin Cave Ltd on-board digital weighing system, making them ideal for contractors who have to deal with unknown quantities of grain at different locations. These weighing systems ensure greater application accuracy when preservatives are being added and a reliable measurement of crop yield.

With pressure on farm margins, feeding Actisaf can help your customers improve the productivity and health of their animals, improving profitability.

Coming in easy to handle 25kg bags, each Actisaf Farmpack bag contains 500 doses of protected live yeast (50g per head per day), ready to add to dairy and beef TMR rations.

Actisaf Farmpack:

1) Stabilises rumen ph

2) Improves feed intakes and feed conversion efficiency.

3) Reduces the incidence of acidosis, cudballs and lameness

4) Increases milk yields and milk quality in dairy cattle

5) Increases growth rates in beef cattle.

Order yours today!

The first ten 1 tonne orders of Actisaf Farmpack will come with a complimentary Actisaf/Carrs Billington bodywarmer.

Contact your local Carrs Billington

The second half of the winter often brings supply issues as peak demand for cattle and sheep feed leaves little room for manoeuvre if raw material production is compromised. This is happening now as Ensus have shut down and Vivergo are experiencing engineering problems; because both biofuels plants have been running at full capacity for most of the last year there are only limited amounts of imported distillers products in store. On top of this a number of flour mills are on short hours.

Therefore the feed industry is on a knife edge for protein supplies right now – there are still reasonable stocks of imported maize distillers but sunflower stocks are modest and oilseed rape crushers are largely sold with very little imported rape in store.

Looking forward, it is thought that a large soya harvest is on the way in South America and it is likely US farmers will sow another big crop in 2015. However, the markets always find something to keep protein prices high so perhaps the new crop prices of just under £300/t are close to the bottom. Rapeseed crushers are not making huge profits so it is unlikely rape prices will drop further at the moment.

Cereal prices have been easing slowly over recent weeks. There is a fine balance between big crops on the ground, relatively high UK stocks on farm and slow exports balanced by farmers reluctant to sell. Our exchange rate against the Euro is not helping exports, either. Barley has been easier to export so the price gap has narrowed considerably to wheat. The feeling is that, barring unexpected large export orders, wheat prices should drift downwards over the next quarter.

As things stand we are hoping to see modest feed price reductions in the spring. As for next autumn there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge … and to fall from the sky before then! General election uncertainties, problems with Greece and the Euro and the sanctions battle between East and West caused by Ukraine mean we could see a volatile market over the next six months.

Carrs Billington is offering 20% Extra Free on 1 tonne orders of Megalix Quattro Mag from Monday 2nd March until Thursday 30th April 2015. Quattro Mag is a high magnesium tub with four sources of magnesium offering the ultimate in free-choice protection against grass staggers. Quattro Mag is available in 25KG and 80KG tubs, and is available with or without copper depending on livestock grazing conditions.

The 25kg tub will be delivered on large pallets able to carry 1.2 tonnes of products. The 80 kg tubs will be delivered with 8, 25 Kg buckets on top free of charge.

Contact your local Carrs Billington Country Store for more information.

Congratulations to Hexham Country Store customer Alan Lawson of South Farm, Hallington who achieved one of the best prices at the recent Stirling bull sales with Hallington Jack Eric, an Aberdeen Angus, sold for 11000 guineas. The 295 acre farm has both Charolais and Aberdeen Angus cattle plus 120 cross-bred ewes; the Aberdeen Angus herd was established in 2004 with some in calf heifers purchased from the Bleback herd.

Jack Eric was reserve champion at the Nothumberland County Show in 2014 and was reared on a Carrs Billington specialist Champion Grower mixture.

Carrs Billington Champion Beef Grower is available from our Online Shop

Apprentice: Ben Ballantine – Land-Based Engineering

Employer: Philip Sharman, Regional Branch Manager – Carrs Billington

What the student says…………….

I come from a farming background and the machines and engineering side of it has always interested me. I approached Carrs Billington, which is a leading supplier of agricultural products and services dealing with major manufacturers. Although they were not looking for an apprentice at the time, on meeting me they decided I was right type of candidate and gave me the opportunity of training.

The apprenticeship allows a mix of both practical workshop tasks backed up by the essential knowledge needed. The facilities in the engineering department at Newton Rigg and the units on the course are well suited to the type of tasks and resources I experience in my job.

I attend college approximately once a month backed up by the college visiting the workplace to assess my progress. The close link between the college and the employer allow me to gain the skills needed to complete the day to day tasks at work. The programme has also helped with developing my communication skills with customers and working alongside others in the workplace.

What the employers says…….

What pleased me most about Ben was his ‘can do’ attitude, his desires to work and especially his willingness to learn all the key factors. I visited the college myself with Ben as I was keen to ensure that Newton Rigg delivered a rounded level of training suitable to the needs of a diverse business such as ours.

To date Ben has surpassed all my expectations (which are high), his maturity shown towards learning and his ability to work with the business and training schedule have been a credit to both Ben and the college. Most importantly, Ben seems to enjoy his apprenticeship and always turn up to work with a smile and is regarded as a highly valuable addition to the team at Morpeth.

Visit the Newton Rigg Website for more Apprenticeship Courses

Catchment Sensitive Farming is now offering water grants that help reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture and thereby improve water quality. The grants offer 50% funding for schemes up to the value of £10 000 per holding. Work that may be eligible includes hardcore tracks and bases for troughs, sediment ponds, cross drains and roofing over silage/slurry stores and livestock standing areas.

Applications must be returned to Defra before 30th April 2015.

For more information or to apply, contact your local CSF officer or click on the links below.

Guide to Water Capital Grants

Water grant scheme: summary of dates and information for 2015 to 2016.

Water Capital Grants Application Form 

www.gov.uk

Only one in a hundred workers are employed in agriculture/forestry and yet this sector has one in five of all fatal accidents at work.

The new hard hitting 2015 farm safety video has just been launched by the Farm Safety Partnership – Please take time to view the video below – One death in farming is one too many!

“Stop and Think SAFE”

Most plants do not supply enough sodium for livestock and horses so supplementation is vital. Lack of salt causes poor appetite and low performance, muscle cramps and general unthriftiness. Animals deficient in salt and other essential minerals can sometimes show symptoms such as licking wood and stones or eating soil and bark.

Offer your livestock premium grade Himalayan rock salt; the pink colour comes from the minerals such as iron, potassium and magnesium which are present along with the sodium chloride. These hard licks are more weather resistant than softer blocks and this also means stock cannot bite chunks off.

Salt is self-limiting, so livestock and horses receiving manufactured feed containing salt will take less free access salt, whereas those on high forage diets will use the licks more.

Premium grade Pink Himalayan large lump Rock Salt is now available from Carrs Billington in 20kg bags or 500kg and 1200kg tote bags for bigger users with smaller sizes also available (750g, 2.5kg & 4.75kg).

Contact your local Country Store for more details.

Carrs Billington would like to congratulate Chris Hamilton who has recently been appointed Chairman of AHDA, (Animal Health Distribution Association). 

The overriding mission and purpose of AHDA is to promote  the rights of its members who represent 90% of the distribution industry, to sell and supply the range of prescription Animal Health medicines not requiring Veterinary diagnosis.

This area is vital to Carrs Billington where we have invested significant resources in training, finance and management. Chris should be congratulated in achieving this prominent position.

Chris has been part of the Carrs Billington team for over 14 years and manages Country Stores in Gisburn, Settle and Skipton as well as his responsibilities at Brock.

Cut costs, spread payments and rake in the profits with our 3 year 0% finance scheme tailored to suit your cash flow.

By buying into Krone’s expertise, you’ll become king of the field, working in confidence knowing you’re strengthening your business and reducing downtime with our low maintenance machines, allowing you to be in the field when it matters.

For more information, contact you local Carrs Billington Dealer