Apologies for not making my annual visit this year, the reasons for my no show will be explained in the next newsletter or two. During the last week of June we were able to finalise more contracts for the supply of our raw materials. One of our main cost drivers is soy bean meal and it’s always a bit of a gamble picking when to contract as the price fluctuates so much. This year I’ve got lucky and have contracted 90% of what I think we require at a very good price. Peas are also secured and at a slightly lower price than last year, however, molasses has increased by 10%.

Grain is proving to be the tricky one, we do have a proportion of our wheat contracted but didn’t do so well on the barley. Grain prices have moved up by about a third compared to this time last year. I generally find that September is a crucial month for grain prices and it will depend on how much buying interest there is from the dairy sector as to which way the prices move. There is a lot of feed grade wheat in storage however its price has been dragged by a perceived shortage in barley. This has been the first year I’ve seen wheat prices lower than barley. As a consequence we have decreased the barley slightly and replaced it with wheat which means there will be a slight lift in protein and energy levels in the meal.

Calf Meal prices effective from July 1 2017

High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg: $656 + GST ex Feedmill
Low Protein Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg: $624 + GST ex Feedmill

I thought we had enough bags in stock to get the season started however autumn production and sales this year have been more than 100% above what we have averaged the previous three years. As a consequence we will run out of High Octane bags later this month or early August. There is a full container of our bags on its way from China though there are doubts that it will reach here in time. So don’t be surprised if there are a few weeks where we are using plain bags.

Facebook

I am currently in the process of setting up a Facebook page which will be called Aoraki Stockfoods Ltd – Aoraki Calf Meal. While I will still send out newsletters Facebook will allow me to communicate news more frequently if required (for example if we have a power cut and we need to ration out supplies). And hopefully I will be able to show our newsletters on Facebook as I’m aware they are currently not always seen by the calf rearer, I will also try and post some general happenings with the intent of jogging your memory (or the calf rearers) that you need to order more meal rather than you remembering once you are out completely.

I have enclosed our brochure for your interest and feel free to pass it on. I’ve also included some more information regarding the development of the rumen papillae.

Rumen development: the key to success

The Pennsylvania State University is a public, land-grant, research-intensive university and you may have seen photos of Rumen comparisons from different feeding strategy’s in our brochure. The following is taken directly from their website and illustrates the importance of having a dry feed that is attractive as possible to encourage early intake it’s also worth remembering that on average calves have 27,000 taste buds as compared to us having only 9,000.

First a quick review of rumen development, which is essential for a successful early weaning program. When the calf begins to eat dry feed, especially starter, the rumen begins to supply nutrients produced by fermentation and the population of rumen bacteria begins to grow. Fermentation of the starch component of grain produces volatile fatty acids (VFA), particularly butyrate, which stimulate growth of rumen papillae and metabolic activity in the rumen. After about 3 weeks of eating grain, the calf’s rumen will have enough bacteria fermenting enough feed to supply a substantial amount of energy.

The rumen bacteria themselves also provide an important source of nutrition—microbial protein—as they are washed out of the rumen, digested, and absorbed in the small intestine. Microbial protein is very digestible and contains a very favourable profile of amino acids relative to the needs of the growing calf.

From a management standpoint, we can assist rumen development by providing free-choice water and a quality grain in the first few days after birth. With this feeding strategy, by 3 to 4 weeks of age the calf’s rumen can be well-developed and ready for the change to a diet of solid feeds. The sooner starch is digested by the calf, the sooner rumen development occurs. It takes about 21 days to develop the rumen papillae from the initial time that grain is fed. This development time is from when grain is first fed, be it 2 days of age or 20 days of age. That is where management plays a big role in determining rumen development and weaning age. Assisting the calf in eating those first few bites of grain can have dramatic, positive effects on starting the process of rumen development.

When calves nuzzle Aoraki Calf Meal it sticks to their nose
they then lick it off giving them their first taste.

When the calves are less than 4 weeks of age, calf meal is best kept fresh so buy little and often.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham