August 2015

Our Competitive Price Advantage

Ironically some farmers have not brought meal off us in the past as they deemed us to be too cheap. However we do have a competitive price advantage for the following reasons;

Aoraki Stockfoods is debt free, there is no debt servicing costs to be passed on.
Our farm pays the rates bill, another saving.
I am a firm believer in KISS (keep it simple stupid) so our feedmill is not “High Tech” and while I do embrace technology, keeping the feedmill simple keeps costs down and allows us to do more of the R&M ourselves.
We have very efficient, productive and low cost feedmill.
We don’t employ salesman, when it comes to doing sales I’m it.
No receptionist, I personally take the orders as our 0800 number is permanently connected to my cell phone plus I encourage customers to text in their orders.
I take calculated risks on when to contract raw materials, and while I don’t always get it right so far this year having no early grain contacts is proving to be a significant advantage.

We could make a cheaper meal simply by removing canola oil, peas, extract instant and product X from our calf meal. And then include palm kernel meal and other cheap fillers. However I was a commercial pig farmer for more than 20 years so I know how important it is not to cut corners. It’s essential to feed animals on a best cost basis rather than a least cost basis.

Our price remains the same for August however during August we will take delivery of some lower priced raw materials which should allow us to drop the price further on September 1:

High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal 40x25kg $710 + GST ex Feedmill

Low Protein Aoraki Calf Meal 40x25kg $680 + GST ex Feedmill

Sweet taste

Calves have 25000 taste buds compared to our 9000 and research has shown calves have a strong preference for sweet solutions. Using calf meal with a sweet taste significantly increases feed intake.

We have been using a sweetener in our calf meal since our visit to the animal feed flavouring factory in France 2012. The product we use (which for commercial reasons we call product “X”) is a high intensity sweetener for animal feed. Product X also has a “Gut Effect” in that it increases glucose, water and sodium absorption and acts on the epithelial structure by stimulating intestinal development.

Or to put it more technically, these gut effects increase the number of glucose transporters on gut epithelial cells, which absorb nutrients from the intestine. Higher glucose absorption provides better nutrition of the villi and gut mucosa, and thereby increases the intestinal surface area and villi height, improving the intestine’s integrity and absorption capability.

Product “X” offers a practical means for enhancing glucose utilisation and also increases feed attractiveness and feed intake, improving feed efficiency and growth rates.

Some calf rearing tips and comments recently posted on a public Facebook page:

Make sure they have to work for their milk, with the teat being no more than 60 cm from the ground.
It’s all to do with the milk going into the right stomach so it is processed properly therefore not getting scours.
Make sure they have to kink their neck down and have their noses up for feeding then your pretty much right.
Milk is going to be warmed up to calf body temperature either before the calf is fed by us or afterwards by the calf. In cold weather and young calves it is far better to use electricity and save calf energy for more vital functions.
Warm colostrum (38°C tops) also increases enzyme activity and therefore improves digestion, leading to better chances of a high immunoglobulin uptake into the blood stream and better immunisation.
Make sure you have a good hygiene system. A foot bath (for your boots) with good disinfectant, use before entering a pen. Regularly spray the pens as well. Keep feeders clean etc. Just stop the spread of bugs.
Golden standard is an ALL IN ALL OUT system. Once calves go in a pen, they don’t leave until they all leave... You could make an exception for sick calves going to a ‘sick pen’ but even that approach is debatable as your sick pen will have an abundance of bugs floating around; the higher the infection pressure the harder for the calf to fight it off.
Don’t over crowd your pens, have dry litter with no draughts. Be patient and compassionate they are babies and need more than a feeder chucked in front of them.
Take the iodine bottle with you and spray navels as you put them in the trailer, and in the shed, (someone else suggested spray twice a day for a week) keep an eye out for infection (hot swollen navel).
Clean water is essential.
Hang some old dog chains in the pens. The calves LOVE playing with them and stops them from getting bored and getting into unwanted habits like ear/navel suckling.
Or hang flax in pens, has something in it to help the stomach and keeps them busy all day chewing.