Day: April 22, 2023

High artificial nitrogen costs have sparked a renewed interest in red clover silage. When grown in conjunction with a companion grass, these crops have the potential to provide a winter feed to livestock production systems from zero chemical nitrogen input.

Dr. Nicky Byrne, Research Officer in Teagasc Grange, joined a recent Let’s Talk Organics Webinar, where he discussed the agronomy and feeding value of red clover silage.

“Red clover is getting an awful lot of interest and it’s very just,” he explained, due to its ability to support increased levels of dry matter production and animal productivity.

Presenting work carried out in Teagasc Grange, which is examining the role red clover silage swards play in terms of the economic and environmental sustainability of dairy-beef systems, Dr. Byrne highlighted both the positives and negatives of red clover production.

Along with the capacity to ‘fix’ >200kg of N/ha, yields in excess of 15t DM/ha are obtainable under zero nitrogen systems. The resulting silage produced from red clover also has the potential to provide additional levels of animal performance, derived from the extra intake potential associated from the feed.

However, red clover does have limitations, Dr. Byrne explained, noting that it is unsuitable for intensive grazing due to the risk of physical damage to the plant by grazing animals. Persistency can be an issue, with commercial farms observing a lifespan of 3-4 years, and the low dry matter nature of the crop can cause challenges when ensiling.

Management

Swards in Teagasc Grange are managed under a multi-cut system, with three cuts taken throughout the year. The first cut is taken in mid-May, with the final harvest completed in September. An infrequent cutting policy is employed, with a space of 6-8 weeks left between cuts. This enables red clover to establish a full canopy, thus intercepting as much sun light as possible.

“If we allow enough time, we fully replenish those carbohydrate reserves and we are ready to cut the plant again. And that carbohydrate reserve that we have replenished will refuel our second and third cut and that’s really important to extend the lifespan of our red clover crops. We might think that it is ready to cut after a month, but we might be extra severe on the plant if we are going in a depleting it that little bit too frequently,” he commented.

Last year, red clover silage swards in Teagasc Grange yielded 19,247kg DM/ha, with 17,772kg DM/ha of this harvested as silage; the remainder was from grazing at the back end of the year to set up the sward for production in 2023. This level of performance was achieved from an organic nitrogen input of 54kg/ha, obtained from cattle slurry, 51kg/ha of phosphorous and 307kg/ha of potassium. No artificial or chemical nitrogen was used. When compared to a perennial ryegrass sward, managed under a two-cut system receiving 208kg/ha of chemical nitrogen, the yield benefit was 3,616kg DM/ha in favour of the red clover sward.

“If we do apply nitrogen,” Dr. Byrne said, “we will reduce the clover content and when we reduce our clover content, we reduce the overall amount of nitrogen that is going to be fixed by the plant itself. That can result in reduced dry matter production and reduced persistence of the red clover plant.”

Feeding value and animal performance

One of the big drivers of red clover is its ability to support higher levels of dry matter intake, Dr. Byrne explained. And although red clover silages often tend to test poorer in terms of dry matter digestibility – an indicator of grass silage quality – chemical and morphological differences between the red clover and grass plant mean that higher levels of animal intake are achieved.

Citing research work carried out at Hillsborough back in the 1980s, Dr. Byrne explained that dairy-beef weanlings achieved daily weight gains of 300g/head more when offered red clover silage when compared to grass silage, which occurred due to animals consuming 2kg/head/day of extra dry matter. Benefits were also witnessed in finishing animals from the same research centre. Despite a 12% lower DMD from the red clover silage in comparison to the grass silage, the dry matter intake of finishing steers increased by 1.7kg/day to support the same average daily gain as witnessed with the grass silage.

Research work is ongoing in Teagasc Grange to evaluate the performance of red clover silage in dairy-beef systems. Provisional results are positive with weanlings achieving higher daily gains on the back of increased dry matter intakes. Over the coming years, the research centre will also evaluate the role red clover silages can play in suckler beef production systems.

The full recoding of the webinar, where Dr. Byrne discusses the factors to consider when establishing red clover silage swards, is available below.

Source: EMM/ The Agriculture and Food Development Authority

The government's policy in the fisheries sector is fully aligned with the principles of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and focuses on sustainable fisheries management and the restoration and conservation of aquatic biological resources, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Petros Xenophontos said on Saturday, noting that around pound 55 million is expected to be allocated to Cyprus between 2021 and 2027, with the EU's contribution amounting to 70% for projects related to the development of the fisheries sector and the protection of the marine environment.

Addressing the 8th Fish Festival organised by the Municipality of Polis Chrysochous, in Paphos district, Xenophontos said that the Ministry has set as its primary objective the support of the fishing sector and the sustainability of the fisherman's profession through the protection and sustainable management of fish stocks, the support of fishing communities, the improvement of fishing infrastructure and fishermen's working conditions, especially small-scale coastal fishing, which is the backbone of the fishing sector in Cyprus.

In order to achieve this objective, he added, the Ministry of Agriculture also attaches great importance to the use of European funds, exhausting every possibility of securing European programmes.

Indicatively, for projects related to the development of the fisheries sector and the protection of the marine environment, Xenophontos said that pound 53 million were allocated for the period 2014-2020, of which pound 39 million came from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the rest from national funds, while for the period 2021-2027, approximately pound 55 million are expected to be allocated, with the EU contribution amounting to 70%.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Sherp, an all-terrain vehicle manufacturer with production facilities in Ukraine, is producing its YEXT model, which is used in difficult terrains across the world, in northwestern Trkiye.

The company, which decided to manufacture its vehicles in Trkiye eight months ago, completed the necessary work at its plant in the industrial province of Bursa.

The plant is planned to be officially inaugurated on April 26 and the mass production of YETX will begin in May.

50,783 people confirmed dead in Trkiye earthquakes

Source: Anadolu Agency

"We must stop polluting and incorporate this into our daily lives," said Commissioner for the Environment, Maria Panayiotou, addressing an event where the beach and sea at the Olympians coast in Limassol was cleaned on Saturday.

The initiative was undertaken by the pharmaceutical company Medochemie in collaboration with the Municipality of Limassol and Levantina Fish, on the occasion of Earth Day, which, as Panayiotou stated, aims to raise public awareness about the environmental impact of human activity and promote sustainable development.

"Just like last year, this year's theme of Earth Day is 'Invest in our planet' and emphasises the need to prioritise environmental sustainability and invest in green technologies and initiatives," she added.

She noted that the Municipality of Limassol and Medochemie have been putting this into practice for years and congratulated them on their action, as well as all the volunteers who participated in the event, while expressing the wish that everyone would "stop polluting, so that we do not have to repeat these initiatives.'

For his part, Mayor Nicos Nicolaides said that environmental protection, air and sea quality, and sustainable development are priorities for the municipal authority.

A relevant press release said the President of the Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Committee of Medochemie, Dr. Christakis Sergides, stated that if immediate and effective measures are not taken, it is estimated that by 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish, also warning of the serious risks it poses to human health through their transport via fish in the food chain.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

An African female elephant that has long been suffering from a string of diseases, died at a zoo in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Saturday, an official confirmed.

Named after Noor Jehan, the queen of the fourth 17th-century Mughal emperor of the subcontinent Jehangir, the 17-year-old mammal was operated on by foreign veterinarians last week at Karachi Zoo but did not recover properly, with her condition worsening to an alarming extent, Kanwar Ayub, the director of Karachi Zoo, told Anadolu.

Noor Jehan, which was brought to Karachi Zoo along with three other elephants some 13 years ago, was mainly suffering from a huge hematoma, or pool of clotted blood, inside her abdomen in addition to intestinal issues.

She, earlier this week, had fallen in a pond and could not pull herself out due to her weak hinds badly affected by the illnesses she had been suffering from for months apparently because of inadequate care and treatment.

Later, on the recommendation by Four Paws, a global animal welfare organization, the zoo staff used a crane, ropes, and belts to pull her out.

She was one of the last four captive elephants in Pakistan, all of them in Karachi, including two at the zoo.

A video of Noor Jehan showing her limping and struggling to stand apparently due to weakness went viral on social and mainstream media last week, sparking a public outcry and calls for shutting down the zoo.

"It saddens us immensely that Noor Jehan's story came to such a heartbreaking ending. We would like to thank everyone who worked day and night during these challenging times to try and give Noor Jehan a chance at survival. We hope the authorities in Pakistan will take Noor Jehan's sad fate as an example and do better for captive wild animals in the country in the future," Four Paws said, welcoming the government's decision to consider closing down Karachi Zoo permanently.

A team of Austrian and Egyptian vets was scheduled to arrive in Karachi next week to assess Noor Jehan's condition.

Four Paws had also arranged the transfer of 36-year-old Kaavan, the country's "loneliest" elephant, to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia in November 2020, to spend its remaining years following a years-long campaign by animal lovers from across the globe.

Animal rights groups have long been blaming the zoo management, which is already understaffed and without trained vets, for neglect and maltreatment that has resulted in the deaths of several wild animals in recent years.

The veterinarians have already suggested shifting Madhubala, now the only elephant at Karachi Zoo to "specific species housing,' fearing that she might suffer a similar fate due to "inappropriate" conditions at the facility.

Last year, an Austrian veterinarian team operated on Madhubala, an 18-year-old elephant named after a legendary Indian actress, to relieve her pain caused by a broken tusk infection.

orsing the suggestion, Ayub said that arrangements are being made to relocate Madhubala to the city's only Safari Park, where another two elephants are living in an "adequate environment."

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Council of Ministers approved on Friday afternoon a proposal by the Ministry of Interior for the revision of third country nationals' migration permit criteria. Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, in statements to the Press after the meeting explained that the proposal is mainly aimed at strengthening the control mechanism on the investments of persons granted such permits.

The Minister said that the revision of the criteria relating to the expedited procedure for granting an Immigration Permit to third country nationals investing in Cyprus provides for stricter parameters in terms of the checks required for the granting of an Immigration Permit, while control and verification mechanisms are defined, Ioannou added.

The aim, he noted, is to "shield the process and eliminate weaknesses that have been observed. The differentiated investment and quality criteria approved by the Council of Ministers stipulate that, among other things, applicants will be required to provide evidence on an annual basis that they continue to maintain the initial investment and the required income established for them and their family.

"In cases the immigration permit holder fails to produce required documents, the immigration permit of the individual and his/her family will be cancelled," stressed Ioannou.

The Interior Minister also said that the amount of investment is not changed, but a control mechanism is established to maintain the investment, while the income criteria were also revised. Consequently, as the Minister explained, the income for each person applying should be pound 50,000, instead of pound 30,000, while for each minor child it should be pound 10,000, instead of pound 5,000, and pound 15,000 for spouses. Finally, he noted that with this revision, permits will not be granted in one act to parents, in-laws and adult children.

Source: Cyprus News Agency