DEFRA Pause CS Capital Applications

We understand DEFRA have temporarliy paused new CS Capital Grants agreements and applications, whilst they re-assess the schemes’ value for money and ensure taxpayer funds are being used effectively. This follows a surge in applications in the lead-up to the budget statement and pressure on the overall budget.

The handling of this announcement, without any pre-warning has created uncertainty for us all, and we will update you further as soon as we have more information. If we are currently working on an application for you we will be in touch directly to discuss this shortly.

It is important to make clear that these changes are only being applied to new offers. Those who already have agreements in place, will not be seeing any changes to their funding, as there is already a legal agreement in place. However, the RPA will not be offering any new agreements for the foreseeable future, and we await clarification as to how those applications currently in the system, but not yet agreed, will be handled.

Please dont hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

Warning: High Levels of Ergot Detected in Cereal Crops

As the harvest season is upon us, we want to bring an urgent issue to your attention. This year, a number of cereal crops across our region are showing unusually high levels of Ergot, a fungal infection which can pose significant risks to livestock.

What is Ergot?

Ergot is a fungus that infects cereal grains like rye, wheat, and barley. It forms hard, dark sclerotia in place of the grain kernels, which contain toxic alkaloids harmful to both animals and humans.

Risks to Livestock

Cattle, sheep, and goats are especially susceptible to Ergot poisoning. Ingesting contaminated feed can lead to:

• Circulatory Problems: Ergot alkaloids cause blood vessel constriction, reducing blood flow to extremities and potentially leading to lameness, tissue damage, and in severe cases, gangrene.

• Reproductive Issues: Livestock may experience reduced fertility, miscarriages, and significantly reduce milk yields. 

• Neurological Effects: Symptoms can include nervousness, convulsions, and even death in severe cases.

Safe Levels of Ergot in Diets

Ergot is highly toxic, so we would not recommend feeding any contaminated grain to livestock.  Some research has shown that an Ergot concentration of 0.2 ppm (equivalent to 0.0002g/kg) in the overall diet can be enough to cause significant symptoms.  Therefore, if a cow eating 50kg fresh weight per day, just 0.01g of Ergot in the mix is enough to cause an issue. 

Mycotoxin binders will not help with Ergot unfortunately. 

Recommended Actions

• Inspect and Test: Regularly inspect your grain for visible Ergot sclerotia. If in doubt, please let us know and we can arrange testing for you.  Some images of Ergot are shown below to help you identify it. 

• Clean:  A good grain cleaner will separate good grain from Ergot, it's lighter than grain so quite easily separated.   It must go through the cleaner slowly to be effective. 

• Discard or Dilute: If contamination is present, consider discarding the affected grain.  It is possible to dilute it with clean grain, but careful calculations will be needed. 

  
  

If you have any concerns at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. 

New Director Appointments at Kelly Farm Consulting

We are thrilled to announce the promotion of three incredible team members to Directors: Beth Woodland, Charlie Davies, and Katie Lloyd!

These promotions reflect our confidence in Beth, Charlie, and Katie's ability to lead our company into the future. We will shortly be moving to larger premises, and will be expanding the team further later on in the autumn.   

Please join us in congratulating Beth, Charlie, and Katie on their well-deserved promotions!