ChewintheCud Ltd

12/08/2026

If you haven't caught last week's episode yet, here's why it's worth your time.

Georgina Thomas, Young Animal Feed Technical Sales Manager, and Dr Juliette Wilms, ruminant researcher, both from Trouw Nutrition GB, talked us through the shift from growth-focused to resilience-focused calf feeding. This episode didn't just beat our existing download record — it beat it by more than 20%, not the usual couple of downloads!

That tells us something about how much interest there is in getting this right. Set a calf up properly early on, and you set it up better for the rest of its life.

Search for ChewintheCud Podcast on your usual podcast supplier, or listen via the link below:

https://www.chewinthecud.com/podcast/19575787/feeding-calves-for-resilience/

This episode is supported by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health | EMENA and Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition.

10/08/2026

Out on one of Andrew's regular farms today doing mobility scoring, sticking to the shade wherever possible in this heat, just like the cows.

Results were as expected for the time of year in these dry conditions: around 1% scoring 2s, with the rest a solid 0 or 1. Dry ground makes a real difference — far less exposure to the wet conditions that drive a lot of lameness, even if the heat itself is a different challenge altogether.

Contact us at [email protected] to arrange a RoMS mobility scoring visit.

10/08/2026

Have you listened yet? Since release on Wednesday, this episode with Georgina Thomas, Young Animal Feed Technical Sales Manager, and Dr Juliette Wilms, ruminant researcher, both from Trouw Nutrition GB, has broken our record for most downloads in the first 24 hours. After five days, it's now also broken our record for the most downloads in the first seven days — our baseline metric for the podcast.

A big thank you to everyone who's already tuned in. It covers the shift from growth-focused to resilience-focused calf feeding, and the fat historically missing from most calf milk replacers.

If you haven't yet, search for ChewintheCud Podcast on your usual podcast supplier, or listen via the link below:

https://www.chewinthecud.com/podcast/19575787/feeding-calves-for-resilience/

This episode is supported by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health | EMENA and Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition.

08/08/2026

It's the beginning of the month, which means invoicing and getting the VAT done — not the most exciting part of running the business, but it has to happen. Otherwise, it's still dry here.

There have been more farm visits this week sampling silage that people didn't particularly want to open yet, but had to, having worked through round bales and other stocks. Several clients report more grass silage in the pit than last year, which is welcome given how tight reserves normally are, even if nobody wanted to be starting it this early. One client had finished harvest by the end of July, which says a lot about how dry the season has been.

Based on that sampling, winter rations are being put together from August, missing maize out in some cases, while others are moving into transition diets for herds calving in September.

There was also a first this week: sampling a client's wheat straw for potassium, prompted by the earlier podcast episode with Vicky Ham. Worth checking, it turns out — first time trying it, keen to see what comes back.

Honiton Show on Thursday brought a good catch-up with familiar faces, though bluetongue is visibly affecting entries this year, and conditions down there have never been so dry.

On the podcast, two bits of news: the MacVet interview came out Thursday and is going down well, and "Feeding Calves for Resilience" with Georgina Thomas and Juliette Wilms has just set a new one-day release record, with the seven-day figures still to come.

www.chewinthecud.com

06/08/2026

Andrew was recently a guest on The MacVet Podcast which has been released today.

On it Andrew talks all things cows, from growing up in Somerset to his decade farming in the extremes of Australia, from much wet in the tropics in the Far North of the country to the devastating drought in the south of the country.

He also talks about the beginnings and growth of his own podcast and why he enjoys hosting and producing this so much.

If you want to take a listen search The MacVet Podcast on your usual podcast supplier or follow the link on the post below.

New episode alert 🎙️🐄

This week on The MacVet Podcast, Fiona chats with Andrew Jones — independent dairy and beef nutrition advisor and host of

From dairy farming in Somerset and Australia, creating a globally successful podcast, providing nutrition advice and a lifelong love of cows, Andrew shares stories, practical insight and one brilliant piece of advice: keep asking questions!

Listen now for a down-to-earth conversation about communication, cows and curiosity.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chewing-the-cud/id1685854246?i=1000780191874

05/08/2026

It's out now. Georgina Thomas, Young Animal Feed Technical Sales Manager, and Dr Juliette Wilms, ruminant researcher, both from Trouw Nutrition GB, join the podcast to explain why feeding for growth has moved on to feeding for resilience. We cover natural drinking volumes, the fat missing from most calf milk replacers, and the real cost of scours and pneumonia in the calf shed. Listen now.

https://www.chewinthecud.com/podcast/19575787/feeding-calves-for-resilience/

This episode is supported by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health | EMENA and Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition.

03/08/2026

There's nothing quite like a good catch-up in the studio, and today's was a big one. Andrew and Sarah welcomed back a guest from one of last year's most popular episodes for a follow-up all about epigenetics.

Joining them this time were Ian Garner, Head of R&D at Antler Bio, and John Walsh, Director at Friars Moor Livestock Health. John brought a farmer's perspective too — he's now using EpiHerd on his own farm, and two of his fellow vet/dairy farmer colleagues are doing the same on theirs.

The conversation ranged across the ADOPT grant, what the results have shown so far, and how all of this is helping shape the support they can offer clients as they look ahead.

The new episode is out mid-September — keep an eye out.

www.chewinthecud.com

03/08/2026

Our calf/youngstock episodes are always popular, and this Wednesday's is a great update.

A calf left with its mother would naturally drink 10 to 12 litres of milk a day — most calves get less than half that. Georgina Thomas, Young Animal Feed Technical Sales Manager, and Dr Juliette Wilms, ruminant researcher, both from Trouw Nutrition GB, join the podcast to talk through why feeding for growth has moved on to feeding for resilience.

The article is live now, full podcast released this Wednesday. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Read the article and subscribe on the website below.

https://www.chewinthecud.com/articles/feeding-calves-for-resilience/

This episode is supported by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health | EMENA and Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition.

01/08/2026

North Dorset is officially in drought this week. There was rain, twice, but neither shower on Sunday morning nor Thursday afternoon was enough to even settle the dust. It's the second dry summer running, and it's become a talking point — several people have asked Andrew what worked during his time farming through drought in Australia.

On the nutrition side, the week has centred on transition diets for autumn calving clients. One client made the call to dry off remaining cows early rather than keep milking through low yields, saving that feed for the fresh cows about to calve — a reminder that early drying off is a genuinely useful management tool when conditions call for it.

Thursday morning took Andrew onto BBC Radio Dorset's breakfast programme with Steve Harris for the station's Farmwatch coverage, discussing drought resilience and what farmers might do differently. Recorded at Round Chimneys Farm, and rounded off with a sausage sandwich courtesy of the farm shop there.

On the podcast, next week's episode is fully edited and ready to go, along with the following one on the TB roadmap published back in June. Wednesday's release features Georgina Thomas and Juliette Wilms on milk powder technology and the benefits of small and medium chain fatty acids for calves.

www.chewinthecud.com

30/07/2026

Andrew spent this morning on air with BBC Dorset Breakfast presenter Steve Harris, broadcasting live from Round Chimneys Farm as part of a BBC Farmwatch outside broadcast.

The conversation covered the current drought, and whether it's time British farming started thinking differently — informed by Andrew's ten years' experience farming in Australia.

A good morning watching a professional broadcast come together, before it was straight back to the office for transition diets for autumn calving clients, and the small matter of a VAT return.