Dairy farmers urged to 'unlock herd's potential'
16/02/05

Too many of us are not unlocking our herd's true potential, Cumbrian farmers were told at a meeting organised by top UK genetics company Cogent Breeding.

Stuart Boothman, Cogent's livestock business manager, told the delegates that that meant looking at every stage of a heifer's life to see where procedures or management could be improved.

"In particular, the first few hours determine her eventual performance in the herd," he explained, detailing a new colostrum policy introduced at the company's flagship dairy unit in Cheshire. "All our newly-calved heifers are milked immediately, from which 5-6 litres is fed to the calf. The aim is to ensure that at one hour old, calves take a minimum of 10 per cent their own weight in milk from a teat feeder.

"This taps into the calf's natural reaction to stand up and suck at this early stage," Mr Boothman explains, "behaviour which seems to wane after a couple of hours."

According to Mr Boothman, the implementation of the new strategy some seven months ago has virtually eliminated calf scour in the herd. "The major benefit is an improvement in growth rate," he points out, "with calves now averaging an additional 0.2kg per day."

The significance of the extra growth was highlighted by the evening's second speaker, Warwick Bastard from nutrition specialists Lillico Attlee. Mr Bastard explained that 'growth' should not be confused with 'weight gain'.

"We define growth as increasing the frame size without over-conditioning the heifer, while weight gain is caused by an excessive intake of energy which results in over-conditioning and no increase in frame size," he said.

"Heifer grouping is the best way to solve this dilemma, although it can be difficult in smaller herds."

If farmers opt for grouping, Mr Bastard has the following advice. "Formulate rations to meet the needs of the youngest heifer in the group. Often mistakes are made through overestimating the energy and underestimating the protein components."

"Maximising microbial growth in the rumen will improve feed efficiency, while encouraging dry matter intake is always beneficial. It's important also to keep on top of body condition monitoring."

"Finally, ensure your nutritionist understands and implements the principle of maximising heifer frame growth," he emphasised.

Frame size rather than age should dictate a heifer's first breeding, Mr Bastard went on to explain. "Wither height should be a minimum of 127cm - and all your heifers should reach that stage within 12 months, if a feeding program to maximise frame growth is used. Any that are delayed should be culled - older heifers have more calving difficulties."

Since 15-20% of the total costs on the dairy farm are associated with heifer rearing, and the single most important variable influencing costs associated with heifer replacements is age at first calving, culling late heifers was a sound move, Mr Bastard reassured delegates.

"Lowering the age at first calving means you can reduce the number of heifers on the farm and therefore reduce that 20% cost of rearing them."

'Close-up management' of heifers, Mr Bastard said, is as essential as transition cow management. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that insufficient time spent in the close-up pen increased the incidence of metabolic diseases.

"Close-up dry cow rations will increase energy, improve dry matter intake, stimulate rumen papillae development, encourage adaptation of rumen microflora and increase the calcium available to the animal.

Producers who actively developed their dry and transition cow management regimes would not be disappointed, he said. "You'll see a rapid increase in profitability through results that can be easily monitored and observed. That includes higher milk yields, less metabolic disease, fewer retained placentas, improved reproductive efficiency, and decreased death and cull rates.

"It also improves colostrum quality, so completing the circle for the next generation of cows."