Attwell Associates Ltd – Specialising in independent dairy nutrition

Attwell Associates Ltd, established in 2000, offers ruminant nutrition advice in the south and south east of England.

We assist dairy units between 100 and 600 cows, from spring calving herds producing 6000 litres to Holstein herds producing 10,000litres per cow per annum. Our emphasis is on planning ahead, making the most of forages and feeds grown on farm in the current climate of higher priced ‘bought in’ concentrates.

Our farm visit is usually half a day with the aim of looking at the dairy herd and young stock, ascertaining their current performance by checking rations, sampling silages, looking at performance data and liaising with relevant farm staff.

We carry out a monthly costing scheme, monitoring margin over purchase feeds, feed rates and yield levels. This is very useful when comparing year on year, especially when targets have been set which all farm staff are striving to achieve.

Discussions with all concerned are extremely important and meeting with the team and working alongside the farm vet requires regular contact.

Ration planning is formulated through the Nutriopt programme from Trouw Nutrition, based on the Ultramix model. Our aim is to supply the animal’s rumen with a balance of nutrients and minerals which ensure appropriate litreage and milk solids.

Martin Attwell

Martin Attwell has worked in agriculture since leaving school in 1979 and trained at Sparsholt agricultural college between 1980 and 1983.

I called on farmers in the Winchester area for SCATS Ltd as a trainee, working at Micheldever Mill in Hampshire for 13 years. Following a time as Ruminant Product Manager I began work for Hanford Feeds in Dorchester as Senior Dairy Specialist in 1996. Continual training and updating of current industry standards is achieved through membership of the Feed Advisers Register and Universal Feed Assurance Scheme (UFAS).