Dive into the comprehensive guide to dairy beef enterprise. Join Farmer Charles Goadby of D Goadby & Sons, Bonanza Calf Nutritionist Selina Field, and Tom Warren from Bonanza Calf Nutrition as they impart their extensive knowledge and experience. This webinar is a goldmine for farmers seeking practical solutions for calf nutrition, streamlined management, and ways to boost profitability in a dairy beef enterprise.

A new calf feeding regime introduced on a Lancashire dairy farm has eliminated incidence of pneumonia in heifer replacements.John and Graham Robson produce milk from 220 cows on a robot milking system at Roe Farm, Preston.Newborn calves receive four litres of colostrum as soon as possible after birth and are initially reared in hutches.They are on a twice-a-day feeding system and gradually transition from colostrum to Transformula on the fourth bucket feed.

A good calf that gets the best start in life will mostly produce a good cow. It all starts with birthweight. As the digestive system is the last part of the calf to develop, size may be an indicator of when the gut is ready to begin digesting food. This digestion and the calf immune system also need a vital feed – colostrum – and they also benefit hugely from transition milk for a number of days post-birth.

Things you need to consider when housing calves this autumn: performance on grass, winter health requirements, nutrition and birth weight.

There are multiple and important reasons why calves need fat in their diet. Fat is a source of essential fatty acids, which form important membrane structures in the calf, and have a key association with vitamins. Fat is also a store of energy and can be converted to sugar when the calf most needs it. Calf rearing is about keeping the calf healthy and, as importantly, developing into a ruminant so it can be weaned successfully and grow.

Heat stress occurs in calves when they absorb more heat than they can expel, leading to discomfort, reduced feed intake, [...]

As we learn more about nutrition and health, the value of natural flora, the prebiotic components and the enzymes in colostrum and milk are key to calf health and development. Low-heat fresh buttermilk is a key link between colostrum and milk as it contains many of the key health components of both and helps to protect the calf’s gut and improve digestion.

This article examines the crucial role of transition milk in supporting the gastro-intestional tract of the young calf. Transition milk is proven to have benefits for calf heath, growth and development. Unfortunately the practise of feeding transition milk has declined as modern farming techniques have made it more difficult to feed without spreading disease.