April 25, 2012

 

Urea's limitation into ruminant feed supplements affects feed availability

 

 

The future availability of feed blocks, mosses licks and pour-on liquid feeds are being threatened by a new proposed regulation limiting the amount of urea that can be incorporated into ruminant feed supplements to just 3%.

 

Urea is used as a cheap replacement for protein that helps ruminants to digest roughage such as straw and hill grazing.

 

The idea to limit its use is the brainchild of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (DG-SANCO) and is to be introduced in December - but the move is being met by fierce opposition from the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), the umbrella organisation representing agricultural merchants.

 

Speaking at the AIC's annual briefing for the farming press in Edinburgh, Ian Henderson, AIC Scotland chairman, pointed out that these feed products are important for ruminants to get the most out of roughage-based diets in extensive systems and that they "could be lost by December" if the industry failed to stop the move.

 

Turning to the vexed question of soaring prices for soymeal, Ian Oliver, chairman of AIC's feed sector explained that over the past four months, that important source of protein had risen by about GBP85 (US$137) per tonne to its current level of GBP340 (US$548) ex-docks.

That was partly down to weather conditions, but mainly as a result of reduced planting, particularly in the US, where more land was being sown with corn for ethanol production to be used as a road-fuel substitute. That had also increased price volatility due to the intervention of commodity speculators.

 

Price volatility for feed, fertiliser and fuel, as usual, was one of the key themes of the briefing, with much of it down to world trade influences, over which Scottish merchants and farmers have no control.

 

Perhaps the only bright outlook was for malting, where, despite the Scottish area sown increasing by around 10% this spring, prices should remain stable due to the increased demand for malt.

 

Messrs Craig Wilson Ltd sold 1,561 prime hoggs at Ayr to a top of GBP105 (US$169) per head and GBP2.171 (US$3.50) per kilogramme to average GBP1.871 (US$3), while 23 prime lambs peaked at GBP107 (US$173) per head and GBP2.513 (US$4.05) per kilogramme.

 

The 373 cast sheep forward saw ewes sell to GBP149.50 (US$241) for Texels and GBP84 (US$135) for Blackfaces, with the overall average levelling at GBP86.63 (US$140).

 

John Swan Ltd sold 42 prime bullocks in St Boswells yesterday to average GBP2.108 (US$3.40), while 52 prime heifers levelled at GBP2.06 (US$3.32). About 10 young bulls averaged GBP1.97 (US$3.2). Over in the rough ring, 62 beef-type OTM cattle averaged GBP1.52 (US$2.45).

 

The firm also sold 1,310 prime hoggs to average GBP1.871 (US$3), while 23 prime lambs levelled at GBP2.125 (US$3.4) per kilogramme. There were 597 cast ewes forward that averaged GBP83.20 (US$134).