Tremendous interest shown in seaweed meal

“Increasing numbers of dairy farmers in Northern Ireland are discovering the power of seaweed meal to boost the nutrition of their cows while, at the same time, markedly improving overall animal health levels within their herds,” said Richard Owens, who heads up Owens Farm Solutions

According to Francis Kyle, who milks 240 cows near Stranocum in North County Antrim, it’s the missing ingredient that ensures all the other components of the cow diet get an opportunity to express their value in full.

Francis farms with his brother James. The Kyle herd calves from the beginning of October through to the end of April. The cows are currently averaging 7,400L per lactation at 4.20% butterfat and 3.45% protein.

“Seaweed meal is a totally natural feed,” Francis added.

“And it only takes very small quantities of the product to make a real and positive difference.”

PhylFeed is sourced from seaweed that is harvested in an extremely sustainable manner from Donegal’s Dungloe Bay.

The fresh product is then dried so as to ensure that all of the nutritional value is maintained intact.”

PhylFeed is manufactured by OGT. The product has been commercially available for the past years and, according to the company’s Seamus Cunningham, demand continues to grow at an exponential rate.

“Seaweed contains more than 60 natural organic elements, amino acids, enzymes, and trace minerals,” he said.

“But it’s seaweed’s unique sugar content that makes it so nutritionally valuable for dairy cows, suckler cows and sheep.

“These sugars act to stimulate rumen function, which is the overall driver when it comes to maintaining the health of all cattle and sheep.

Francis Kyle is quick to confirm the very real benefits, in terms of herd performance, that he has noticed since including PhylFeed into the rations of his dairy cows.

“Upset stomachs are a thing of the past and lameness levels have reduced noticeably.” he said.

“I am getting much better performance from forage while the cows are demonstrating much stronger heats. Problems at calving are also much reduced. We have not had one difficult birth since the beginning of this year’s calving season.

“But the overall impact has been on the general health of the cows. They all look tremendously well and milk output is excellent at the present time.”

Richard Owens was a recent visitor to the Kyle farm.

“PhylFeed is included in all cattle rations at a rate of 120g per head per day. It can be easily incorporated into a TMR or simply spread over silage,” he said.

For further information, contact Richard Owens on 079906 90857