Safmannan® delivers stronger starts and faster lamb finishing

At Hall Farm near Thirsk in Yorkshire, fifth generation farmer Phil Wise runs 220 Suffolk and white face cross ewes.

Of these, 120 ewes lamb in January, with a further 100 Suffolk ewes lambing in April.

January-born lambs are turned out onto stubble turnips with ewes as soon as possible and pushed hard with creep feed to reach finishing weights of 42-44kg at 16-18 weeks of age. April-born lambs are grazed and kept as hoggs through the winter, with additional hoggs bought in for finishing.

With lambs typically born at 3-4kg, this equates to daily liveweight gains of around 317g across the 18-week period. The lamb creep, supplied by W E Jameson Feeds, contains Actisaf® and is offered ad-lib from 3-4 weeks of age.

“There are no digestive upsets, and the lambs are growing really well without a lot of grass for those born in January,” says Phil about the lamb creep. “This makes the lambs, and my system, more efficient.”

To further support his flock, Phil wanted to strengthen ewe performance around lambing and give lambs the best possible start. On the advice of Andrew Grayshon at W E Jameson Feeds, he introduced Eweboost 20 six weeks prior to lambing, a pre-lambing ewe feed containing postbiotic Safmannan®.

With high levels of beta-glucans and alpha-mannans, Safmannan® increases colostrum quality and supports ewe immune function by binding to pathogens and supporting the structural integrity of the gut lining. 

Since incorporating Safmannan® in the pre-lambing ration, Phil has seen significant improvements colostrum quality and noticeable differences in lamb performance. 

The impact has also extended beyond lambing. “Around 50% of January-born lambs are off the farm quicker due to the improvement in colostrum quality. This has helped the lambs to thrive earlier increasing the daily liveweight gain.” 

This reinforces his view that they are benefiting from a better start in life because of the support that Safmannan® has provided by increasing the quality of the ewe’s colostrum.

“The product is worth its weight in gold and the return on investment is a no-brainer,” he concludes. “Using Safmannan® has given me an extra layer of security which allows my ewes to lamb down and recover better, and it allows my lambs to get a lot of high-quality colostrum.

“This gives them an added benefit from day one, supporting health and lamb vigour whilst saving time and money on other potential interventions.”