Calf milk replacer plays a vital role in the development of calves, therefore it should be of high quality.
Cormac Kelly, along with his wife Bernadette farm outside Moate, Co. Westmeath.
Cormac runs a dairy beef enterprise, and is well aware of the many challenges that exist on the farm during the busy spring period.
In recent years, Cormac switched enterprises, from suckler to a dairy beef operation.
“We farm a total of 180ac, split into seven different land blocks. Today, the farm is focused on dairy beef production, after moving away from suckler cows.
“The move has been positive, but the workload has definitely increased, especially during the spring period,’’ said Cormac.
Beef finishing system
Cormac aims to finish the majority of his cattle under 24-months-of-age. Hitting growth rates throughout, in the first three months in particular, is essential to finishing cattle under 24-months-of-age, and is a significant driver of an efficient profitable finishing system.
Selecting and purchasing the most suitable animals for your production system is vital, and this is reflected in the cattle that were slaughtered recently.
“I picked out a good bunch of 60 cattle which were slaughtered before Christmas, at an average age of 21-months. It’s great not to have to bring them through another winter.
“We’ve killed another 27 cattle in the last couple of weeks, averaging 22-months. The last bunch killed out at 51%,” he said.
Cormac is a participant in the Twenty20 Beef Club, a programme developed by Tírlan and Kepak.
The club promotes and markets Irish heifer, steer and bull beef at a premium price. As part of the club, Cormac purchases all his dairy beef calves off six fellow club members.
The partnership with the Twenty20 Beef Club brings a number of benefits right from the source farmer to the factory, improving traceability, sustainability while maximising profitability.
Calf milk replacer
The growth rate achieved during these first three months of life affects the lifetime performance of the animal, and is largely a function of feed quality and quantity.
It’s also the time when feed conversion efficiency is at its highest, as liquid milk is more nutritious and digestible, versus a solid diet.
At the centre of Cormac’s effective calf feeding programme, is GAIN Easi-Beef Calf Milk Replacer, which is high in protein at 20%.
This calf milk replacer contains maximum levels of quality milk products, namely whey protein powder essential to promoting trouble-free performance, with key ingredients such as Butyrate and Gardion to further nutritionally support calf health and performance.
Cormac has been using the GAIN Easi-Beef Calf Milk Replacer for the last number of years, and is delighted with calf performance.
Cormac said: ‘’The calf arrives here in the yard at three-weeks-of-age. On average, we feed these calves for seven weeks during which they get 750g of calf milk replacer across two feeds, gradually reducing to one feed per day for the last seven days.
“The aim is to have calves eating at least 1kg of concentrate before weaning. Overall, the calves perform really well on the GAIN Easi-Beef Calf Milk Replacer, and look healthy.’’
Calf housing
Preparing and housing young stock correctly is vital to ensure healthy calves. Providing young calves with the correct housing facilities reduced stress, maximising performance and profitability. ‘
“The two sheds where we house our calves have been power washed and disinfected. Along with that, we’ve been doing some minor work to improve one of the sheds; including hanging new sliding doors to prevent any draughts, making it more comfortable for the calves.
“Straw is another vital tool and we’re lucky enough to have good quality straw in storage for the season.
“We’ve also just purchased an automatic feeder, which is to be installed in the coming weeks into the main calf shed, which holds 100 calves. Hopefully the automatic feeder will help reduce time spent preparing and feeding calf milk replacer.’’
Cormac, is now purchasing his 2024 calves, stating that the aim is to “purchase anywhere from 160 to 170 calves each spring”.
He said: “I start purchasing from mid-February, and usually aim to have the last calves bought in early April at the latest. Any later, I find it doesn’t make financial sense.
“Each year I usually purchase 100 males with the remainder being females, purchasing a mixture of Aberdeen Angus and Hereford, along with some Belgian Blues and Friesians.’’
Vaccination and biosecurity
Herd health within the Kelly farm is of utmost importance. Cormac outlined his strategy to maintain herd health: ‘’I have a solid herd health plan that I’ve worked out with my vet.
“When calves arrive, they get a pneumonia vaccine, followed by 10 in one vaccination which covers them for clostridial diseases, like blackleg. Later in the year, all the animals are injected and receive a respiratory vaccine.
“I focus on preventing disease build up, regularly cleaning out sheds and keeping plenty of straw under the calves. Along with that, I feed all the animals using creep feeders to prevent birds excreting and bringing in disease.’’
The effective management and feeding of calves helps to reduce stress. Central to Cormac’s calf health programme is the use of GAIN Easi-Beef Calf Milk Replacer, which include key ingredients that help support calf health adding to his control measures on farm.
Tirlán technical support
Cormac believes that the advice and technical support offered by the team at Tirlán is vital in terms of the decisions he makes on farm.
‘’Business manager, Eoin Regan and the team at Tirlán have been excellent over the years, and always available to offer advice,” he stressed.
For more information of the GAIN Animal Nutrition Calf Milk Replacer range, contact your local Tirlán FarmLife business manager, branch or visit TirlánFarmLife.com.
