Corby Rock Mill

10/06/2026

PICA
🤷‍♂️What is PICA?
🐮PICA is the desire for cows to eat things that do not have any nutritional value.

❄️With very low NDF levels in grass and very high sugars, combined with cold temperatures restricting phosphorus uptake there will be a risk of PICA in herds.

Signs of PICA:
❌Cows eating stones, briars, soil etc.

Causes:
🔺Low phosphorus
🔺Low sodium (salt)
🔺Poor rumen health / acidosis – lack of fibre, high sugars

Prevention/Treatment
✅Ensure good rumen health – keep a close eye on dung score and milk fat levels and increase fibre content of buffer feed if necessary. Rumen buffers will also be helpful. Avoid any abrupt dietary changes.

🧂Ensure sufficient salt in diet. Salt blocks can be offered. Cows self-regulate salt so they will only consume it if they need it.

✅Ensure sufficient phosphorus in diet. If phosphorus deficiency is the cause of PICA cows will take around 2 weeks to respond to the additional phosphorus.

☎️Additional phosphorus can be added to our feeds if required - contact Corby Rock on 047 30099 for more information.☎️

02/06/2026

Feeding Heifer Calves at Grass

🟥Feeding provides a good opportunity to examine all calves, watching for any that are scouring or falling behind the rest of the group.
🟥Try to avoid paddocks that have recently been spread with high levels of nitrogen (N) or are very lush and protein-rich.
🟥If calves are grazing lush pastures with a high crude protein (CP) content (>20%) and a low fibre content (

20/05/2026

🥛Persistency of Milk Yield Post Peak🥛

🐮Many herds reached peak yield a couple of weeks ago.

⬇️For some herds peak yield achieved was lower than previous years due to curtailed intakes of grass all season.

❌After peak, milk yield will naturally fall - for some herds litres have fallen significantly over the last two week.

⚠️It is vitally important to be regularly measuring grass intakes and supplementing accordingly to maintain persistency in yield.

✅Aim to reduce milk yield drop to

14/05/2026

🌧Feed Supplementation During Wet Weather🌧

✅Be pro-active in adjusting supplementary feed on wet days (see table below).

❌Do not wait until production drops and cows are standing looking very empty before making the adjustments.

🐮In cases of low milk urea and underperformance in terms of milk yield and/or milk protein – assess the need for additional protein supplementation.
⏱This may only be needed for short window of time.

13/05/2026

🥛🐄Maintaining Butterfats🐄🥛
⚠️As has been evident over the years prevention is always much more successful than treatment when it comes to managing butterfat levels.

To Help Maintain Butterfats:
✅Offer a small quantity of effective fibre source until end of 2nd rotation – Chopped straw, straw pellets, wholecrop, maize silage, soya hulls, sugar beet pulp etc.
❌Avoid excessive levels of nitrogen fertilizer and sow directly after grazing to maximize days between sowing and grazing.
✅Graze at the 3 leaf stage.
❌Avoid slug feeding concentrate in parlour – max 4kg/milking.
✅Ensure starch level of compound supplement is appropriate for feed rate.
❌Avoid periods of feed deprivation.
❌Avoid abrupt dietary changes.
❌Avoid selective grazing – maintain sward quality. Pre-mowing can help maintain sward uniformity.
✅Include rumen buffers and/or yeast.
✅C16 protected fat can be included to artificially increase milk fat – consider economics first.

08/05/2026

We are extremely proud to be supplying Tateetra & Rathmore Farms with carefully designed high quality feeds for almost 30 years. For these quality heifers, we specifically designed a unique feed to promote growth without putting on excessive fat so that the heifers are in impeccable condition for breeding. We included high quality ingredients such as toasted cereals and Soya. We carefully cultured an exclusive mineral pack to enhance digestibility of the feed and prevent stomach problems. Hoof care is a vital component of successful breeding, so we added a specific pack to help maintain hoof structure, flexibility, and condition. The care and attention these heifers have received is exceptional. This sale is not to be missed!

💥 Save the Date 💥
⏰Friday, September 25th 2026. Evening Sale
📍 Our Autumn On farm Sale in conjunction with Marteye & Ballyjamesduff Mart
🔥 Approximately 90 super heifers - exceptional quality on offer
📸🎥 Images & video of 2026 heifers to follow over the Summer
Ballyjamesduff Cooperative Livestock Mart Ltd 001975
MartEye

07/05/2026

🐮Low Milk Urea🐮

⬇️Low milk urea can suggest a protein deficiency in the diet
🌱Grass crude proteins have dropped further to 22.1%
❄️Cold conditions will be restricting nitrogen uptake & utilization with swards on average only receiving nitrogen 14 days prior to grazing
🔄The lower crude protein, combined with higher sugars improves rumen nitrogen utilization, resulting in less excess rumen ammonia & hence lower milk ureas

⚠️Expected milk ureas on full-time grazing are expected to be 34-35mg/dl but we are currently seeing figures

05/05/2026

🔥Heat Detection🔥

🧲Good heat dectection (>90%) is essential to high cow fertility to AI
🧲Average heat duration = 8 -14 hours (Range 3-30 hours)
🧲Oestrous cows stand to be mounted but only for a few seconds each time = minutes in the 2-18 hour heat period
🧲Disturbing the cow (collection for milking, strangers or dogs nearby etc) may disrupt standing heat (occurs in 30-40% of cows)
🧲10-15% of cows come in heat at night
🧲Lame cows (pain in the hind feet or low-back) may refuse to stand to be mounted

Heat Detection Aids
👀Heat detection aids are available but no replacement for visual observation
👁Checking cows morning, midday and late evening for 20 minutes each will result in heat detection rate of approx. 70%
5️⃣Five 20 minute sessions can increase HDR to 90%
⛑Heat detection aids can achieve this 20% improvement with less effort
✅Examples: tail paint, paint sticks, kamars, oestrus alert and vasectomised (teaser) bulls

01/05/2026

🐮Our Summer Dairy Range is now in production🐮

🌞We manufacture a wide range of summer dairy feeds from a 12% up to an 18% crude protein pellet/blend🌞

🌱Our cal-mag levels have also been adjusted to suit grass based systems and various feeding rates🌱

☎️For more information contact Corby Rock Mill Ltd on 047 30099 or your Sales Representative☎️

20/03/2026

These March lambing ewes in Co.Roscommon are on our tried and tested Superlac 20% ewe pellets.

Packed with maize and barley to support energy requirements and soya bean as the main protein source for milk production, this nut is ideal for ewes both pre and post lambing.

For more information on our sheep range or to discuss your flocks requirements please contact us today on 04730099.