Farming is a way of life and is anything but predictable. That's why your farm must be efficient and resilient enough to grow crops both sustainably and profitably now and in the future.
Grazing animals have a requirement for selenium so it is important sufficient is present in the grass to meet the animals' needs and so prevent selenium deficiency.
Applying fertiliser enriched with selenium ensures every blade of grass contains the right amount of this vital nutrient to help maintain grazing livestock health.
Selenium is an essential nutrient for all grazing livestock as it stimulates the immune system and has a significant effect on reproductive health.
Selenium deficiency in cattle has been linked to sub-optimal herd fertility, stillbirths and retention of placenta, calves slow to stand and suckle, increased milk cell counts, increased levels of clinical mastitis and white muscle disease.
Selenium deficiency in sheep has been linked to reduced flock fertility, stillbirths and retained placenta, lambs slow to stand and suckle.
Increased selenium levels in blood have also been linked to increased liveweight gain and wool production.
Grassland soils are deficient in selenium
Grass grazing samples are deficient in selenium
Grass silage samples are deficient in selenium
Cost of a case of mastitis in dairy herd
Average cost of infertility per cow
Cost of each case of a retained placenta
of forage samples above guideline after application
taken by every animal contains selenium
increased forage selenium levels folowing application
When it comes to spring we should not overlook the potential of fortifying grass for grazing or for silage with selenium.
You might believe that using fertiliser fortified with selenium is only useful for grazing livestock but this is not the case. If grass silage is fertilised using selenium-enriched fertiliser, this silage will have enough selenium to meet the needs of ewes and cows. Livestock utilises the selenium in grass and silage more efficiently than the selenium found in boluses, licks and TMR mineral mixes.
Whether it’s a lactating ewe or cow, there is an increased demand for selenium because of milk production. It’s therefore important to maintain selenium intakes in this spring period when lactating livestock goes out to grass to avoid high cell counts, increased rates of mastitis and poor reproductive performance.
Yara uses sodium selenate to fortify their Booster range of fertilisers. Sodium selenate is used as it’s taken up by the grass more efficiently, upon application. Unlike blended fertilisers, the Booster range of fertilisers all contain selenium in every granule, ensuring the same levels of selenium in every bite. Using a fortified fertiliser ensures that grass or silage has selenium levels which meet the animal’s requirements of 0.2-0.3 mg/kg DM.
Don't overlook the potential of fortifying grass for grazing or for silage with selenium, for a relatively small investment of around £8 per ha you can a significant portion of your cows' selenium requirement will be met by grass.
Here is a collection of short videos from around the country where some other farmers talk about why they use Yara's Booster fertilisers.
The following Booster range fertilisers are all enriched with selenium
Yara supply our solid and liquid fertilisers and micronutrients through a network of local suppliers Use our interactive map to locate your nearest suppliers.
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