Giving calves a boost

Accelerated growth programs for calves are increasing in popularity, with more farmers seeing the benefits of feeding higher rates of milk powder to replacement heifers to support higher growth rates. The economics of rearing beef calves however has tended to encourage lower milk replacer feeding rates. In the spring of 2020, Farmlands facilitated a trial on a calf rearing unit in Canterbury. The trial compared feeding rates using NRM Power Whey to explore the benefits of using an accelerated growth program for calf rearers aiming at the 100kg beef market.

Matt and Bronwyn Dering's beef unit on their Greendale property was selected for the trial. Two groups of 16 Freisan bull calves were randomly assigned to either a control or trial pen. The calves were brought from a dairy farm aged 5 days, as per the farm's usual protocol. For the first 12 days the calves were fed the same amount of NRM Power Whey per day, with the acceleration period for the trial group kicking in on 30th August and continuing for 52 days. During the 52 days of acceleration, each trial calf got 11.7kg of extra milk powder. Throughout the trial, calves were regularly weighed, with animal health and behaviour recorded. The calves were kept in the sheds for the whole trial period. Farmlands Nutritionist, Stacey Cosnett and Technical Specialist Karen Fraser, helped set-up the trial and upskilled the Derings along the way. Throughout the trial both the control and trial groups of calves did well, however the accelerated group had consistently better weight gain. The calves in the control group put on an average of 670 grams a day from 11th September through to 23rd October, whereas the trial group put on an average of 780 grams a day during the same period. If we take the average extra weight gain of 110 grams per calf per day for the 52 day acceleration period, the accelerated calves put on an extra 5.7kg which meant they could be weaned earlier. Bronwyn also noticed that the calves on the higher rate of milk powder had better health and behaviour with less incidences of navel sucking, shinier coats, more settled behaviour and less incidences of health interventions required. Both the control and trial group in general had good health and performance throughout the duration of the trial, however the accelerated group were always ahead.

| Karen (Technical Specialist) and Emily (Technical Field Officer) lending a hand with the trial calves making sure everyone gets their fair share of Power Whey.

Farmlands Nutritionist, Stacey Cosnett and Technical Specialist Karen Fraser, helped set-up the trial and upskilled the Derings along the way with some simple tips making all the difference.

• Never underestimate the power of electrolytes. Not just for use in scouring, electrolytes can be a tool for preventing minor health issues from becoming big health issues. Be proactive and electrolyte as soon as a slow feeder or a sad calf is identified. Just remember to wait 4 hours after a milk feed.

• Don’t overcomplicate things.

Keep it simple with good quality milk powder, good quality hard feed and good hygiene practices as the cornerstone of your system.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Stacey Cosnett, Farmlands Nutritionist