Auctus is championing calf success at Jonny McCammond’s farm near Shane’s Castle, Co. Antrim. He is milking 140 cows who are calving all year-round.
Jonny is pictured here with Auctus Business Development Manager, Lorraine Killen with a pen of newborn calves after being started on Champion Calf Milk Replacer.
Jonny’s father, Stephen sadly passed away in July 2023 following a short illness and it left Jonny, and his brother Gary to take the reigns of the family farm.
Over the past 12 months, the milk herd has doubled in size and tireless work is being carried out to improve all areas of the farm, with calf rearing being one of these key areas.
The McCammond farm are using two products from Auctus, which they believe has helped their calf rearing methods hugely – Champion Calf Milk Replacer and First Fibre.
After feeding colostrum from the parlour for four days, they move the calves on to Champion Calf Milk Replacer.
Feeding a total of 6L/calf/day, Jonny mentioned that the calves are “thriving more than ever before”.
Championing calf success
Jonny said: “We began using Champion when we saw that our calves weren’t thriving as well as we would have liked.
“Within a few days of feeding it, we had different calves. They were full of energy, showing an interest in eating meal and came running when they saw milk being mixed.”
Champion is a whey-based milk replacer offering 23.5% and 20% oil and fat, making it a perfect product for rearing both replacement heifers and beef calves side by side.
The Triple Shield Protection enzyme health package, along with an extremely strong vitamin and mineral inclusion, leaves calves healthier and stronger.
Jonny is also feeding First Fibre, a supplementary high fibre feed of lucerne, first generation Timothy Grass and dried straw, along with 30% ration, vitamin and mineral package and gut protection.
“We were struggling to get our meal intakes going. Lorraine from Auctus, came out to the farm and gave us a lot of advice which made a massive difference.
“One of the things she recommended was to try First Fibre and we haven’t looked back. I wouldn’t rear calves without it now,” Jonny said.
Formulated to promote rumen development, First Fibre is a highly palatable source of fibre with a balanced vitamin, mineral and amino acid inclusion with a chop length of less than 5cm, offering the necessary scratch factor to stimulate papillae in the rumen for bacterial development.
“The fact that we have back up and on farm support from Auctus means a lot. We know that if we have an issue or need advice, we can just lift the phone and Lorraine will call in,” Jonny added.
Auctus specialises in young animal health and nutritional products and are renowned for their unparalleled approach to calf rearing.
If you would like to hear more about any of the Auctus product range, you can contact Auctus by phone on 00353 43 6683200; e-mail [email protected] or contact your local business manager:
Lorraine Killen 0044 7342 259225 l [email protected] Northern Ireland and Donegal
Brian Geraghty 00353 87 1175971 [email protected] Monaghan and the west of Ireland
Daragh O’Rourke 00353 87 1170803 [email protected] Cavan and export
John Linnane 00353 87 7996247 [email protected] Midlands and south-west of Ireland
Seamus Whitty 00353 87 4000958 [email protected] South of Ireland (south of N7)
