Extended Info:
Purchase at your own pace without missing out on multiple purchase discounts. Discounts are applied retrospectively, so as you reach each purchase milestone—4, 8, 12, 20, and 40 feeders – all of your current and previous purchases are discounted at the same level.
Note: Discount program amounts include all grain and hay feeder purchases. Creep panels, creep gates, roofs, and other accessories or attachments are not included.
Extended Info:
Purchase at your own pace without missing out on multiple purchase discounts. Discounts are applied retrospectively, so as you reach each purchase milestone—4, 8, 12, 20, and 40 feeders – all of your current and previous purchases are discounted at the same level.
Note: Discount program amounts include all grain and hay feeder purchases. Creep panels, creep gates, roofs, and other accessories or attachments are not included.
Extended Info:
Purchase at your own pace without missing out on multiple purchase discounts. Discounts are applied retrospectively, so as you reach each purchase milestone—4, 8, 12, 20, and 40 feeders – all of your current and previous purchases are discounted at the same level.
Note: Discount program amounts include all grain and hay feeder purchases. Creep panels, creep gates, roofs, and other accessories or attachments are not included.
An on-farm experiment found that a mob of lambs grazing a stubble crop and supplemented feed ad-lib, compared to lambs in a feed lot, grew faster with lower feed and labour inputs.
| Duration: | 60 days |
| Quantity: | 270 in each group |
| Stock: | 5 month old 2nd cross lambs |
| Stubble supplement mob: | Ad-lib barley seconds (approx. 0.5kg/day) Ad-lib lentil seconds (approx. 0.5kg/day) Ad-lib stubble pasture (0.55Ha/lamb) |
| Lot feeding mob: | Ad-lib barley seconds (approx. 0.5kg/day) Ad-lib lentil seconds (approx. 1.0kg/day) Ad-lib oats/medic hay (approx. 0.5kg/day) |
1. Calves per feed input which was increased from 25 calves to the commercial application of 50 calves per feeder
2. The outputs used the calculator from www.advantagefeeders.com.au/calculating-return-on-investment
3. The outputs includes the costs associated with filling, monitoring and depreciation.
Tim Petering, the experiment operator had the following observations throughout the experiment.
On the 13/1/15 (one week before the trial commenced), 60mm of rain fell and this germinated self-sown barley in a 140Ha paddock. Half way through the trial , this germinated feed had “hayed” off.
The lamb that made up the Stubble supplement mob were considered the “poorer” doers because they had the lower growth rates before the trial commenced.
| Stubble mob |
Lot fed mob |
|
|---|---|---|
| Feeding duration (days) | 64 | 59 |
| Number at start | 256 | 291 |
| Avg. starting weight (kg) | 40.6 | 47.8 |
| Avg. value on 20/1/15 ($2.70kg LW) | 109.62 | 129.06 |
| Total starting value | $28,062.72 | $37,556.46 |
| Number at finish | 256 | 282 |
| Avg. finishing weight (kg) | 59.5 | 64.7 |
| Avg. value on 20/3/15 ($2.55kg LW) | $151.73 | $164.99 |
| Total finishing value | $38,841.60 | $46,525.77 |
| TOTAL ADDED VALUE | $10,778.88 | $8,969.31 |
| Barley seconds consumed (kg) | 9200 | 11380 |
| Lentil seconds consumed (kg) | 9000 | 15650 |
| Oats/medic hay consumed (kg) | 0 | 6840 |
| Barley cost ($150t) | $1,380.00 | $1,707.00 |
| Lentil cost ($150t) | $1,350.00 | $2,347.50 |
| Oats/medic hay cost ($180t) | $0.00 | $1,231.20 |
| Grazing cost ($0.50/head/week) | $1,152.00 | $0.00 |
| Salt and Lime | $0.00 | $189.66 |
| 2x 6in1 vaccinations | $0.00 | $127.60 |
| Total feed weight (kg) | 18200 | 33870 |
| Feeding cost ($30/tonne) | $546.00 | $1,016.10 |
| Labour input (hrs) | 2 | 10 |
| Labour cost ($40/hr) | $80.00 | $400.00 |
| Depreciation cost * | $280.20 | $475.95 |
| Total feeding cost | $4,534.00 | $6,891.46 |
| PROFIT | $6,244.88 | $2,077.85 |
| PROFIT/finished lamb | $24.39 | $7.37 |
*This is calculated by multiplying the depreciation rate of 15% by the investment of:
2x NGF1800 feeders and 2x Sliding Gates Hay Feeders for the
Lot-fed mob and
2x NGF1800 feeders for the Supplement mob. This also assumes
that this application of feeders accounts for 50% of their use throughout the whole year.
The trial utilised cost effective feeds (barley and lentil seconds, screened out of the harvested samples) unavailable to most enterprises. Between the start and end of the trial, lamb value decreased from approx. $2.70/kg liveweight to $2.55/kg. It is common for the liveweight value to increase approximately $0.10/kg/month.
If the trial was conducted with the following inputs:
The two mobs had similar weight gain.
The Lot-fed mob grew at 286g/day while the stubble supplement mob grew at 295g/day.
The big difference was the supplement consumed.
The Lot-fed mob consumed 2.04kg/head/day – 45%
less supplement.
Less labour. The Lot fed mob required two vaccinations and required their feeders to be filled approximately twice as often at the stubble supplement mob.
There were no stock losses in the stubble supplement mob while 3% of lambs died in the Lot-fed mob.
We conduct on-farm trials to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of our products. Each trial provides practical, evidence-based insights that guide our work and support informed decision-making.
We provide local access to our innovative livestock feeding systems, backed by knowledgeable support and on-the-ground expertise.
Advantage Feeders is proudly headquartered in Ballarat, Victoria, supporting livestock producers across Australia and beyond.
Advancing Ruminant Production
Help livestock farmers double meat production with the same level of inputs
Through continual research and development, we strive to provide livestock farmers with the world’s best controlled feeding products, knowledge and systems that allow them to achieve the highest return on investment
