omplete please contact me immediately. A couple of times this season calf meal has been delivered to the wrong address and it’s much easier to find it straight away rather than 7-14 days later.

I am often asked when should we switch to Low Protein Calf Meal? The physical difference between the two diets is that the High Octane contains much more soybean meal which is high in digestibility and in by-pass protein. I usually advise that if you want to switch it is ok when the calf is weaned, on good pasture and chewing its cud. However this month I have asked Paul Drew from Vitec Nutrition to go into more detail on this, I have included an abbreviated version of what he sent me.

I have looked at what cost cutting measures could be done with the Low Protein Calf Meal. One option I looked at was reducing the coccidiostat to standard levels and removing some of the other extras that we use. However it would only result in a saving of $20 per tonne (less than a $1 per animal) and while every dollar counts there is little advantage in saving a $1 on feed costs if you then end up spending more on animal health or have poorer production in years to come. So at this stage the diets stay the same. Though in case it does stay dry and feed supply becomes tight I will look to make a summer budget meal option for older calves.

In recent weeks we have had new customers switch to us (usually happens at this time of year when farmers start comparing calf growth rates) if you are one of the new customers, previous editions of our newsletters are available at www.aorakistockfoods.co.nz/news.html if you wish to read them.

Extra Help

In late September our youngest daughter Eva arrived home after working at an American Summer Camp to help us for a couple of months. And our oldest son Brendon has once again taken two weeks of his annual leave (works at Gordon Handy, Timaru) to help us at the peak of the season. And with Daniel our youngest helping us when he is not at school it is fair to say we truly are a family business.

Auger Positioning Pads

One of the transport truck drivers has commented positively a few times on our concrete pads which I use to correctly position the tractor driven augers. They save lots of time and were simple to make – place the auger in the exact position so that it is centred in the top of the silo, block one side of the axle, dig under the wheel by 75-100mm then fill up with concrete making sure the concrete comes up high enough to create a hollow. I am then able to shift the auger with the quick hitch knowing when the wheel drops in the hollow it will be in the correct position to fill the silo.

Protein – an important nutrient for growing calves

Ruminants rely on protein formed by their rumen microbes as a major protein source. The microbes form their own protein from the crude protein in grass and other feed material. Microbial protein is very good quality and is well utilised by the ruminant. However young calves have undeveloped rumens which are poorly colonized by microbes. It takes time to build up a microbial population and a fully functional rumen which is then able to utilise forage and low quality protein to produce microbial protein.

For the calf to be able to utilise the protein in grass, its rumen needs to be developed and functioning optimally, which is a full function of the microbial development and population in the rumen. Younger milk fed calves are only going through the process of developing their rumen and are unable to utilise the grass protein, so it is important to feed the higher protein calf meal (High Octane) during this stage.

Calves also rely on bypass protein which is protein from feed that is not converted to microbial protein, and instead “bypasses” the rumen and is digested in the lower gastro intestinal tract. Bypass protein is low in grass and high in soybean meal.

It is important that calves meet their growth objectives for the overall benefit of their productive life cycle. Ensuring that enough protein is fed for the calf to grow and reach those targets is critical.

If the calf is weaned and is unable to reach satisfactory growth rates due to the lack of crude protein in forage and poor forage quality, it is worth keeping the calves on the higher protein High Octane Plus meal. However, in spring and early summer, forage proteins are usually high enough to allow the use of a lower protein meal in older calves. The Low Protein Plus provides extra energy which helps with the conversion of forage protein into microbial protein in the rumen. The microbes require energy to form their own protein, much the same as any living organism.

Feeding the correct calf meal to your calf is a balancing act to achieve your growth objectives. The young calf will need a higher protein level with good quality protein to achieve its development and growth targets. The weaned calf needs protein supplemented in a meal form to fill the protein requirement which is not totally fulfilled by forage. This amount of supplemented protein to be fed is dependant on the grass quality and the intake of forage. Growth in weaned, older calves requires protein to be supplemented over and above normal forage protein levels, if growth targets are to be met.

Current Prices

High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg $750 + GST and Delivery
Low Protein Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg $710 + GST and Delivery

Cheers

Ken Buckingham