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You can never have too many ideas in farming and Practical Farm Ideas gives a great many for a very reasonable price.

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Practical Farm Ideas helps Macmillan Cancer Support

Mike Sherwood's 70 Limousin suckler cows, plus calves and youngstock get through tons of mineral licks in the course of a year. The cost adds significantly to his feed bill. So he decided to try and make his own, experimenting with various recipes incorporating free access minerals and rock salt, adding molasses and some rape seed oil, making a mixture which contained the right balance of minerals, and one which was sufficiently appetising but not so attractive that more was being taken than necessary. Planning involved working out the right balance of ingredients, and the final problem was converting this mixture into a hard block for the cattle to lick. The 'magic ingredient' is hydrated lime and water. After this, he needed to perfect a method so he could make a load of blocks in less than an hour took more time.

The result is a DIY method which reduces his mineral bill by an extraordinary 75%. The ingredients can be adjusted to compensate for the deficiencies of the individual farm - talor made for the soil and forage in the ration. The disadvantages of bulk buying, with money tied up, storage space used, and the risks of damage, are eliminated.

Mike wanted to thank the Macmillan Nurses for the wonderful support they provided his mother last year, and thought the mineral recipe could play a useful part. After all, other farmers would benefit from his research, and everyone would benefit if he could couple this with the charity. He turned to Practical Farm Ideas as the method of communication.

His choice of the magazine was because it is not in the business of selling product to farmers, as the magazine carries no advertising. With it's single remit to help farmers cut costs, Practical Farm Ideas was a first choice. Being a magazine without committees and competing departments was another reason, a decision could be taken quickly. And with its circulation now reaching 14,000 readers, the impact will be considerable.

"Macmillan's care of and concern for my mother and the whole of our family was simply outstanding, and I know just how much all this costs. So I suggested asking for donations - of £5 - and as a thank you the farmers would get the full recipe and instructions to make their own blocks the same as mine," explains Mike.

The response from readers has been outstanding. Cheques for as much as £20 have been received from Farm Ideas subscribers. The local Macmillan office is delighted with the idea, and its results. The total donation goes directly to the charity to help fund their work.

GETTING YOUR MINERAL RECIPE CARD

You don't need to be a subscriber to join in, but you will find the full details on pages 24 and 25 of the current issue, 16-1, which you can buy by using this link.

A cheque made out to Macmillan Cancer Support and sent to Practical Farm Ideas Macmillan Appeal, 11 St Marys St, Whitland, Carmarthen, SA34 0PY , plus your name and FULL ADDRESS, is all you need do.

Mike Sherwood with the mixer he uses to make the blocks, and his happy herd.