As we all know machinery breakdowns really only occur when the machinery is being used. This month we had 3 breakdowns and while one (an electric motor) had no impact on quality the other 2 which were actually less obvious and harder to detect did affect a very small percentage of bags. Any breakdown is undesirable but much more frustrating when it impacts on quality so apologies if you were affected.

Prices remain the same this month, earlier in the season we took out contracts for both wheat and barley to give us certainty on pricing and by the end of this month we should have finished these. Free market grain prices have currently eased and we should be able take advantage of these lower prices in November. However free market prices for soybean meal are much higher than our current contracts and depending on sales it is likely we will need to buy more soybean meal on the free. It could be a case of one cancelling the other one out or maybe the gap between High Octane and Low Protein will increase.

October Aoraki Calf Meal Price

High Octane 40 x 25kg - $678 + GST ex Feedmill
Low Protein 40 x 25kg - $646 + GST ex Feedmill

Our Low Protein does have about 25% less digestible protein than the High Octane however it is higher in energy. Once your calves are weaned, preferably eating 1kg of meal per day and on quality pasture, Low Protein calf meal is certainly adequate. If you have some lighter calves you are better to separate these and continue to feed them High Octane.

Nice golden plump barley

This year’s barley is generally plump and the grain weight is very good, it is of good colour and some lines are very low in moisture (as low as 12%). This does mean that during crushing it does shatter more and ends up quite fine. The simplest trick of the trade to counter this is to add water to the grain, so the grains are then softer and won’t shatter when crushing. It’s not a trick we use, though I can see there is a good profit margin in selling water.

Already we have had days were Interfreight load out about 50 tonne

The next 6 weeks is our peak production time and often the short week after Labour Weekend is our busiest. During this period if possible please order a few days ahead, sometimes it’s a case of reminding the staff to tell you to order more before you run out and it is so easy to get caught out. It also puts a lot of pressure on freight companies. When they are doing the deliveries they really appreciate those farmers who have organised a tractor with the correct forks on it to be either waiting for them or a tractor driver in close proximity. A delay of 30 minutes while unloading usually has a ripple effect for not only the truck driver but also the farmers that are waiting further down the road.

Returning pallets

Later this month is when we start to run out of pallets, we do have stack’s of what we call blockies which are kept as backup. The only problem with these pallets is that some tractor forks don’t fit, which can be frustrating at your end. We don’t charge for pallets (due to the number we send out, I have always maintained it would be a logistical nightmare to track and trace each pallet) we just ask you to return them. Freight companies will generally pick them up providing you have them stacked up ready for them. If they don’t pick them up then please let me know and if you have any other spare pallets that are suitable for us to use then we are more than willing to take them as well.

We have plenty of reserve pallets however they are not always tractor friendly

Ordering via text

A reminder on ordering via text, please use the 027 299 3484 number rather than the 0800. I have asked Spark why the 0800 can’t receive texts and they tell me that it uses a different network. This doesn’t really make sense to me as both numbers are permanently connected to the same phone. The other issue is if you do send a text to the 0800 it doesn’t bounce back like it would for a wrong number, your text somehow just disappears in space. I like receiving orders by text as sometimes it is not easy for me to answer the phone or if I do answer it I am not in a position to write the order down especially when I am away from the office. It also has the advantage that for Interfreight deliveries, texts after hours can be forwarded to them when I receive them which keeps them informed. However I also enjoy talking direct to the customer and not everyone likes texting so calling me is fine.

Hamish Winter finds it “fantastic” that he can text an order through so that’s it ready for when he and Fiona call in a few hours later.

The meal advantage...

• Calves start eating meal at an earlier age, compared to pellets
• Calves eat wet meal, but not wet pellets
• You can see what is in the meal, nothing is hidden
• Calves will lick the ground clean, very little is wasted

We know what really works... calf meal is what we specialise in. Aoraki Calf Meal can be delivered to your farm, or you can uplift it directly from our Feedmill in Waimate.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

Price Drops

As mentioned in a previous newsletter we are in the fortunate position of not having very many contracts for the raw materials that we will use this season. And during the last month we have started to benefit from some quite large reductions in prices in particular with grain and canola oil, these price changes have now filtered through to the bagged product. This allows us to once more reduce the price. We expect these new prices to remain in place for September and October and we will review them again for November.

September & October Aoraki Calf Meal Price

• High Octane 40 x 25kg $678 + GST ex Feedmill
• Low Protein 40 x 25kg $646 + GST ex Feedmill

Maintaining quality

We could also reduce our price further by no longer including product X, Xtract Instant and having the coccidostat in at the standard rates. However if I didn’t believe in the cost benefit of these products then I wouldn’t be using them, it’s that simple.

There are a number tricks in the trade for reducing prices that some companies use however I strongly believe in cutting the price and not the quality. In recent months we have been approached by other companies who are not stock food manufactures but do have a byproduct available to use as a filler in the manufacture of calf meal/pellets. These fillers can look OK on paper but that does not mean they are digestible, especially in a young animal. We have been offered some of these fillers at the grand price of $20 per tonne (I think you will agree this is just too cheap). While some other stockfood manufacturers may use these products we certainly don’t.

Benefits of a balanced diet

Some farmers will be tempted to only feed crushed barley to reduce costs however On-Farm Research results released in the 2006 Poukawa calf rearing newsletter showed that feeding crushed barley has a negative impact on 12 week weights with calves on average weighing 10% less. Aoraki Calf Meal is a blend of barley, wheat, soya meal, peas, molasses, canola oil, salt, lime (calcium for bone density) plus the micro nutrients. Feeding a balanced diet to a young growing animal will have short term and long term benefits. And while some people still believe in the phenomenon of compensatory growth, the truth is that animals weaned at low weights never catch up even at maximum growth rates.

Achieving target weights in heifers

Achieving target calving weight in heifers starts with achieving target weights at 12 weeks. Poor growth rates or poor animal health in those first 12 weeks will reduce the likelihood of achieving target calving weight. General failure to achieve target weights at mating and pre-calving will result in:

• Lower conception rate of heifers,
• Later calving heifers and consequently lower conception rate of first calvers (rising 3 Year Olds),
• Lower milk production in first lactation,
• Failure to achieve adequate mature live weights, affecting lifetime production.

For feeding calves meal out in the paddock, plastic 200 litre drums cut into thirds make great meal troughs, we even still use them for R1 bulls. You may be surprised how many calves can fit around each trough, using your foot they are easy to tip the rain water out of even when holding a bag of calf meal. The calves tend to move them a bit when feeding so you don’t end up with those dead patches of grass from a feeder staying in one spot to long. Personally I have always found it best to have enough troughs so all the calves can feed at the same time.

One of the drawbacks in producing a meal that is attractive to animals is that it is also attractive to pests. Especially mice and rats in the calf meal storage area, we have a couple of cats at the feedmill which certainly helps and we also use Pestoff Treated Wheat. This product is actually designed for bird control however we find it great on mice especially when we add some attractant to it (canola oil). I like how mice can’t carry it away, it works by inducing hypothermia which means if the cats did eat the poison or dead mice and start to look sleepy (never happened yet) we just need to warm them up and they will come right. This poison works best during temperatures less than 10 degrees. We also use mousetraps with Nutella and at one stage Shona had a trapping line of 7 mousetraps which she checked each day. Thankfully due to the design of our sheds, rats are rarely an issue.

Repurposing and recycling

Our bags are made and printed in China and we send out in excess of 100,000 bags into the farming community per season. For Bio-security reasons as well as ease of use we do not reuse any bags. However the bags can be reused for other purposes especially if they are opened by removing the string rather than slashed with a knife. I have spoken to a couple of recycling depots who are very willing to take these bags and they will either repurpose them or send them away for recycling. We have also had a request from the Waimate Scouts for used bags which they will use for their manure drive and other fundraising activities. If any of our local customers are willing to collect them for the Waimate Scouts then please let me know or contact David Campbell.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

Welcome to the first customer newsletter of 2015. Thank you to all the customers that were able to meet with me during my farm visits in the Autumn. I try and visit all the farmers who have brought 5 tonne or more of calf meal during the previous year and I enjoy meeting customers face to face as well as the drive round, with so many beautiful farms to admire. More credit should be given to the many farmers who work so hard on farm presentation.

I need to get in the habit of taking more photos when doing farm visits; the photo I have taken shows how easy it is to establish specimen trees along a fence line.

Pricing for Spring 2015

Like previous years we will once again have a price that will be reviewed during the season on a regular basis. We have started this season by dropping the price by $40 per tonne on the High Octane and $30 on the Low Protein. One of the main reasons for the price drop is that we have contracted 65% of our soybean meal requirements at $100 per tonne cheaper than last season. High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal contains more soybean meal then Low Protein hence the reason for it dropping further in price. I also took a punt and didn’t take any early contracts for grain and so have been able to secure some of our grain requirements more recently at a much reduced rate. There are also more savings from recent negotiations that are yet to filter through and at this stage I am confident that in September we will be able to drop the price further which makes a pleasant change compared to the last few years.

2015 July & August price

High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal 40x25kg $710 + GST ex Feedmill
Low Protein Aoraki Calf Meal 40x25kg $680 + GST ex Feedmill

A reminder that at the start of the season while your calves are young and sheds aren’t very full you are best to buy little and often so that the meal is kept as fresh as possible. It does make a difference for calves less than 4 weeks of age. While the meal does have a long shelf life it is still a grain product and like bread the fresher it is the tastier it is. For our more distant customers you may be able to split a pallet up between neighbouring customers (or if your neighbour isn’t a customer tell them they should be! We will send you a reward if you convert them).

Most calf rearers are excellent in realising they are dealing with a baby animal and best practice in the calf pens sees the calves getting fresh meal each day rather than multiple days’ worth being put out in one go. Calves will actually be trained to eat meal faster if the meal trough is empty say after about 20 hours compared to having meal 24/7. And if you do have leftovers from the day before these are best cleaned out and fed to older animals rather than just placing fresh meal on top.

Pallet Returns

Last year we purchased a large number of second hand pallets, unfortunately it turned out the nails were prone to popping out, so Shayne (who has worked for us for 12 years) is in the process of re-nailing them and so far has used over 10,000 nails. Another stockfood manufacturer decided to change the type of pallet they use, so we have also been able to pick up a number of their disused pallets for our use. We don’t charge our customers for pallets however we do ask you to return them and any others that are spare and of suitable size. It’s all part of keeping the costs down.

Newsletter Feedback

Our newsletters (including past newsletters) are also available via our website and sometimes we get feedback however I was surprised to get the following from the USA regarding last year’s November newsletter: “Thank you for the great picture and description of your auger position pads. I help farmers with physical injury, or illness, learn how to adapt so they can keep working. I’ve recommended for farmers with low vision to use concrete pads as you describe so they know when they are lined up. Do you mind if I share your picture and text?”

Naturally I said yes, which was followed by, “Thank you, Ken. If you know any farmers in your area who suffer from illnesses or injury that makes it difficult for them to work, let them know about me. I’d be happy to assist them in finding tools and equipment to make it possible for them to keep working. I won’t be making any farm visits, but happy to help via email and the internet from my home office here in Michigan!” - Ned Stoller, ATP, Easter Seals Michigan – AgrAbility, www.michiganagrability.org.

Natural Alternative to Antibiotics

XTRACT Instant is a natural alternative to antibiotics, enabling higher performance and health status, through the use of active substances Carvacrol, Cinnamaldehyde and Capsicum oleoresin which are from aromatic plants and spices.

Capsaicinoids found in Capsicum stimulate digestive enzyme activity, increasing feed digestibility and allowing for better nutrient absorption. Cinnamaldehyde protects the microvilli from toxins and free radicals due to its intracellular antioxidant activity, leading to an increased microvillus size important for nutrient digestion in the developing rumen. Carvacrol favours the development of cellulolytic flora which produces volatile fatty acids in the colon. The increase in VFA’s especially butyric acid inhibits pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and clostridia and increases beneficial lactobacillus populations, giving XTRACT its beneficial health properties.

XTRACT is registered and sold in more than 40 countries around the globe, the average return on investment achieved was 11:1 in five consecutive trials. This is the fifth season we have included XTRACT in Aoraki calf meals.

Any Photos or Tips?

If you have any tips or photos you think I could use for the newsletter please either email them to me or phone me to discuss. Likewise if you are prepared to write a testimonial for us that would be very much appreciated. Are we using your correct mailing address, delivery address or business name? If we need to change any of these, please send me your details, preferably by text or email.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

In last month’s newsletter I mentioned I would look at having a summer meal option for older calves, for most of us the weather has continued to be dry which means a shortage of grass is now a real possibility. A few years ago I made a mix with wheat, PK and molasses which was fed to our own calves (plus some customers used it) through autumn and winter. While I haven’t fed it to such young calves before I believe it will also be ideal for calves that are 110kg or more.

The main ingredients for this year’s summer meal will be wheat, barley and palm kernel. And molasses, vegetable oil, calcium, salt, coccidostat, vitamins and minerals will also be included. A typical analysis of this diet on a DM basis will be 13.5% Protein and 11.8 ME. Priced at $560 per tonne (40 x 25kg) + GST and freight. This price will be subject to any movements in the prices of the raw materials.

Please let me know if you are interested.

I was disappointed to hear recently that a number of dairy farmers had very good Hereford Friesian cross calves that they couldn’t sell and ended up putting them on the bobby truck. Such a waste especially when the beef industry is looking so good for the life time of those animals. Unfortunately too many calf rearers have come unstuck in recent years and have left the industry. However in the future if you do have good calves that you can’t sell then please let me know and I will try to place them within in my customer base.

During last off season I was lucky enough to bulk buy a significant number of used pallets, unfortunately sometimes the nails in these pallets weren’t really strong enough. Congratulations to those of you who were able to successfully unload them without breakage and commiserations for those who couldn’t. The feedback we had from the truck drivers was that the successful tractor drivers had a steady hand on the controls to gently lift and then tilt back before moving to far. Those in a hurry or inexperienced tended to lift too quickly and then not tilt back and ended up spreading bags all over their yard. A job for us in the off season will be to re-nail a significant number of pallets (thank goodness we have a nail gun). If at the end of the season you have a number of good or repairable pallets please let me know and I will either get the freight companies to pick them up, or if time allows, I will come and collect them myself.

The main change at the feed mill for us this season was stopping the use of meatmeal and bloodmeal in our pig and poultry diets. Which then meant, after some alterations, we were able to use the pig and poultry section of the mill for bagging the Low Protein calf meal. This improved our throughput and also allowed us to do some bulk bags for the first time in a number of years.

This will be our last newsletter until next July. We thank you very much for your business for 2014 it is appreciated. I look forward to visiting most of you in 2015, hopefully in March, and remember we do make calf meal every month of the year. The team from Aoraki Stockfoods wishes you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

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

October is when it gets really busy at our end, at the time of writing this production is starting to average 40 tonne a day and we are still four weeks away from the peak which is normally the short week after Labour weekend. While we continue to improve the capacity of the feedmill to cope with peak demand often it’s not that easy for the freight companies and they can come under some extreme pressure. Please do what you can to help them cope, have a tractor ready to go with some good forks. Thank you to the farmers who do have good forks on their tractor and who take care with our pallets, unfortunately the truck drivers tell me there are still some farmers unloading in a hurry and using a silage grab, which never ends well. We really like to get our pallets back in reusable condition, if you have some pallets to come back and truck driver isn’t very cooperative in picking them up then please send me a text.

Also a thank you to those calf rearers who text their order to me, often I am away from the office when an order is placed and sometimes it’s not convenient to stop and write the order down. With the texts when I get back to the office I can easily scroll through them trying to make sure I miss none. Just remember you have to use the 027 299 3484 number the 0800 does not receive texts even though it’s the same phone. This month I’ve asked Paul Drew from Vitec Nutrition to provide some info on coccidiosis. The following is an abbreviated version of what he sent me.

Ionophore use to prevent Coccidiosis in calves and the dangers to non-target species

Ionophore use in calf feed is important to prevent coccidiosis and to improve the rumen environment. A typical calf feed is formulated to protect the calf with sufficient ionophore to fight against coccidiosis, once the calf is eating 1 kilogram of feed. Aoraki Calf Meal includes Bovatec® (active ingredient - lasalocid) at a higher level, protecting the calf once it is eating 650 grams, an estimated two weeks earlier than typical calf feeds.

Calves become infected with coccidiosis when they ingest the oocysts (or eggs) of the Eimeria parasite. Once ingested, the parasite invades the mucosal lining and progress through the various stages of development in the cells of the intestinal lining. It’s during this period that the parasite does damage – reducing growth rates, feed intake and feed efficiency and eventually causing diarrhoea. By the time the signs of bloody diarrhoea become apparent, the damage is already done.

Coccidia are passed from calf to calf by ingestion, so good sanitation and isolation help to protect against coccidiosis. However, the oocysts are particularly resistant and can survive for extended periods of time in tough conditions. Once calves are infected, the number of oocysts in the environment increases rapidly and so even calf rearers, with good management practices, can have coccidiosis problems.

It is the reduced feed intake, poor growth rates and ill-thrift seen in sub-clinical cases which results in the greatest losses for the producer. Heifers affected by coccidiosis may never achieve their full potential for growth and milk production. Independent research has shown that at 12 weeks, Bovatec® fed dairy calves are on average 11.7% heavier than non-treated calves.

In the case of this disease, “prevention is better than cure”. Ionophores are very effective in preventing the disease as they disrupt the functioning of the oocysts in the gut lining and prevent the disease from occurring. In the case of Bovatec®, the lasalocid dosage required to prevent coccidiosis is 1mg lasalocid /kg bodyweight. However, because the required dosage for protection, changes with increasing bodyweight, it is evident that protection from cocciodiosis is dependent on Calf Meal intake and level of ionophore in that Calf Feed to provide the correct dosage dependant on calf weight.

Ionophore Toxicity in non-target species

Ionophores affect the transport of ions in the various cell membranes. This ability makes ionophores capable of controlling the parasite coccidia in chickens, calves and other animals, but it also makes it deadly for horses and dangerous for dogs. While it does affect many systems, its main impact is on the dog or horses muscles, especially the heart as it affects the flux of potassium and sodium across the muscle membranes.

Toxic signs and degree of symptoms are dependent on the age, sex, weight, health and intake of ionophore containing feed. There is also a difference in level of toxicity depending on the type of ionophore. There are two main types of ionophores used in New Zealand ruminants, Bovatec® (active ingredient - Lasalocid) and Rumensin® (active ingredient - Monensin). Lasalocid is known as the “safer” of the two ionophores by up to 10 times safer than monensin in horses.

LD50 is a figure used to indicate toxicity levels. LD50 is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. The LD 50 of Lasalocid for a horse is estimated to be 21.5mg/kg bodyweight per day and 10-15mg/kg for a dog. LD50 for monensin in horses is 2 to 3 mg/kg body weight and 5-8 mg/kg for a dog.

A 400 kg horse will have to eat 86kg’s of a calf meal in a day containing 500 grams of Bovatec® 20% per tonne to reach the LD50 and in effect, have a 50% chance of dying. This is no recommendation that the horse or dog can eat feed containing lasalocid. Remember that the LD50 describes the level of intake where half of the tested population died (the other half lived). If a dog or horse has ingested feed containing ionophore and doesn’t die, there could still be long term damage to that animal. We recommend you follow all label cautions against feeding ionophores to dogs, horses and camelid species.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

The month of August is when we finish our feed mill maintenances and we get to test out our changes that have been made since last season and to do extra fine tuning. I am pleased to report the addition of the new calf meal bagging line is working very well and certainly will help us increase production. This new bagging line is where we used to mix and bag pig and poultry meal. We still have pig meal and layers mash available however we no longer use meat meal or dried blood in those diets or in any other diets. Interestingly changing the layer mash diet resulted in a $1 per tonne saving (meat meal prices have risen significantly in recent years) and the eggs off our own hens have actually increased slightly
in size.

Prices remain the same this month

Prices remain the same for September, on the free market there has been significant rising in soya meal prices while locally there is evidence of easing in grain 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

Another change during August is the regrooving and refluting of the grain crushers. We use three roller mills, two for grain and one for peas. We have two quite different roller mills for grain crushing, one I had made locally using rolls from my first roller mill that was built in Poland. We get these rolls lathed down and regrooved once a year. I regroove them using a small angle grinder with thin cutting discs and using the old grooves as guides (if you leave it too long these grooves disappear making it much more difficult). I then get a local engineer to lathe them and true them up. They only take the minimum off and the grooves are left in place. If you lathe them first and groove them second you risk losing the old grooves. What I have learnt is that it is better to do it more often rather than leave them that long that the old groves are gone or deep wear lines have developed.

My other roller mill is a precision made mill from Australia. The rolls of this mill only get done every third year and we send them back to Australia for refluting. In the past we have had these rolls fluted with 18 flutes/inch, a saw tooth profile and 10% spiral on the rolls. This was to crush it fine enough for the pigs. This time we have gone with having 12 flutes/inch, equal angle profile with a sharp tip and 5% spiral. This is designed to break the grain with not much flour. And it has made a noticeable difference to the amount of fines present in the meal.

I often get the comment about rats and mice causing damage to the bags of calf meal on farm. At the feedmill we use poisoned wheat that's designed to give birds hypothermia. I like it because the cats and dogs are less inclined to eat it and if they do eat it or the poisoned animals you just need to keep them in a warm area for an hour or more for recovery. Another reason I like it is the rodents can't carry the bait away. Sometimes I will also coat with some vegetable oil to make it extra attractive. However it works best in colder temperatures and if the temperature is over 15 degrees at time of ingestion it will be less effective.

Often I get asked "what do I do in the off season" perhaps the answer is too much! Although we only have 100ha, during the off season we have to play catch up with the other farm work and this year amongst other jobs we were still working on wind damaged trees. More recently I have started grazing what I call Barbers Block (35ha at the top of Waimate Golf Course) with 150 bulls so the need to get a hot wire around that block become urgent.

I also have various roles off site and took on another new project this year which has the intention of building a shared use trail with a 5% gradient from the edge of Waimate up to the Whitehorse lookout (approx. 7km). We have formed a new club called Whitehorse MTB Riders Incorporated (for some reason I ended up as President). It has been very challenging and time absorbing, with sorting out a club constitution, access agreements with various land owners as well as helping to design and mark out the top 3km of the trail. A special thanks to lawyers Ken McKenzie (RSM Lawyers) and Tony Tweed (Hope & Associates) for their free assistance and guidance, Rooney Earthmoving and Rotary Club of Waimate for jointly funding the cutting of the top section, and Roger Small for flying me over the site so I could take some aerial photos. If you are interested like us on Facebook – Whitehorse Big Easy.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

The last week of July has been interesting for us, on the Wednesday evening we received 10 minutes of really strong winds which saw Daniel and I shifting fifty 2 year old bulls out of a tree paddock right on dusk and naturally they behaved just like 2 year olds, then we had to go remove three trees that had fallen cross the road. Thursday morning saw the power go on and off numerous times as the winds caused more problems in other parts of the district. On a more positive note on Wednesday the engineer finished the off season alterations and maintenance. We have made changes in the feed mill that will now give us two bagging lines for calf meal instead of the previous one, enabling us to yet again lift our production capacity.

This month we are also trialling Canola Oil as replacement for Soya Oil, it does present some small savings and the processors claim that because it's a fresh product, made in Canterbury compared to Soya Oil that is imported and the way it is processed it offers extra health benefits for the calf. I am not sure if you will notice any difference, however it's nice to support a local product that is potentially better as well as cheaper.

For those of you who have tried talking to me on the cell phone (either 0800 or 027) you will be aware cell phone reception at the feed mill is very patchy causing frustration. Last season we had a cell phone signal booster installed which certainly helped however it turned out to be illegal and I subsequently got fined $1280. So back to patchy reception, sometimes I will take a while to answer the cell phone as I will move to an area of better reception before answering. Another change for this season is that I've removed the fax machine. When I receive orders via text or email, even with patchy reception they still come directly to me. Where as faxes can go unnoticed in the feedmill office for a period of time, especially in the off season. It also makes it easier for me to recheck any orders or order numbers when I'm doing the accounts in the home office. Please note when texting use the 027 299 3484 number as the 0800 doesn't receive texts.

Prices remain the same this month

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

During the last month we increased some of our protein contracts and while I won't rule out a price rise later in the season it's only likely to happen if we need to go to the free market for more grain.

Getting calves started on meal

Every season we get feedback on how well the calves have started eating the meal from a number of customers, especially new customers. And also every season we get a smaller number of farmers who want to know why this year their calves won't touch it even though everything is supposedly the same as the previous year. So here are some tips that I found worked for us when we reared calves and also tips from other calf rearers.

1. Keeping the meal fresh.
The meal is a grain based product and while it has shelf life of 6+ months we have found that for the first 3 weeks of the calf's life the fresher the meal is the faster they will start. So where practical buy small amounts and often at the start of the season and make sure you only have enough in the trough for one day at a time and ensure the trough is clean before you add more (any old meal can either be fed to older calves or crook cows). We used to milk feed once a day and do the meal twice, remember a calf has 25,000 taste buds compared to our 9,000.

2. The amount of milk you feed.
Most farmers are now feeding a maximum of 4-5 litres per day and most farmers are once a day after 7-10 days of age (some farmers are once a day from day 1 and others still twice a day until weaning). Most farmers do not increase the amount of milk as the calf gets older. Naturally the more milk you feed the less inclined the calf will be to eat meal. Likewise with the frequency of feeding.

3. Keeping the calves inside for 4-6 weeks.
This isn't possible on all farms however the farmers that are able to do this extoll the benefits. Not only for getting the calves to eat the meal and therefore develop the rumen quicker but also health wise as generally these farms are not reusing the same pens multiple times in the same season. Day by day as an animal gets older it sheds more bugs so when you reintroduce a new born calf to a previously used pen it faces a higher disease challenge.

4. Restrict grass until rumen is developed. If you are putting the calf outside at an early age try and use a small paddock that has no grass. As until the rumen is functioning they can't digest grass and while they certainly will eat it you don't want a baby animal filling up on a product it can't digest.

5. Provide straw not baleage.
Research shows benefits in providing straw for calves however the problem with baleage is that it's only 35-40% DM as compared to calf meal 85-90% DM. Bulky fibres are good for stretching the rumen however grain produces butyrate and propionate which once fermented promotes the growth of long healthy rumen papillae that provide the large surface required for nutrient absorption.

6. Positioning of the trough and trough space.
For inside the shed positioning the trough near the area where you feed the milk often works best. One farmer told me how he removes the milk feeder and places the meal feeder back in the same place with fresh meal. In the paddock if you are still feeding milk try and feed the milk in a similar place each day and position the meal trough close to this area, also being near the water trough works well.

In our pens we used 20 litre containers with sides cut out for meal troughs, though some farmers say the troughs are best at knee height. In the paddock we used 240 litre plastic drums cut into thirds likewise with PVC pipe and the tractor tyre in half works really well but can be difficult to make.

I am sure there are lots of other successful calf rearing tips amongst you all and if you are willing to share yours then please forward it to me.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

Welcome to the first newsletter for 2014. Again the off season has gone by too quick and as I write this I still have some customers to visit. I made a good start in April however for various reasons haven’t got around everyone yet. One of those reasons was in May I took my Stepfather in-law and my youngest son to Queensland for two weeks where we drove over 4,000km from Brisbane through the Queensland Highlands up to Townsville and back to Brisbane. Our aim was to avoid cities and instead see farming Queensland  style. The main farming types we saw were cotton, sorghum, cattle, prawn and sugar. I even managed to call in and see a couple of feed mills as well as Australia’s biggest cattle sale in Roma (14,200 head the day we were there).

Pricing for 2014 Season

As most of you will know grain prices have risen substantially this year. We have a certain amount contracted from last spring, which was lucky, and have contracted more recently. It’s unlikely prices have peaked, however with palm kernel becoming available again and under $300 per tonne, this may have some impact on grain sales. Ironically grain is about $50 per tonne cheaper in the North Island as they are importing from Australia. We can’t use Australian grain as we don’t process it enough to meet quarantine specifications and with some of my friends and neighbours being grain growers it’s not a path we want to go down.

Soya meal prices had been quite high until about the start of June and then dropped by nearly $100 per tonne over a couple of weeks. We have now secured 50% of our requirements at a good price. Only time will tell if they are going to continue their downward trend or will they start to climb again.

It always a guessing game on when to contract, sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it wrong. Also unknown is what our production levels will be which has an obvious effect on how much I need to contract.

Our prices for the start of this season are:
High Octane Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg $750 + GST and Delivery
Low Protein Aoraki Calf Meal 40 x 25kg $710 + GST and Delivery
This price will be reviewed in September or October.

Although we have enough grain contracted to maintain this price based on last year’s sales, price movements could happen if some of our other raw material prices move up or sales increase and we have to go to the free market for more grain. Read more in our latest Newsletter for July 2014 here...

Cheers

Ken Buckingham

Earlier this year I visited most of the customers that purchased 5 tonne or more from us in 2012. These visits can be as short as 2 minutes or as long as an hour. I even did a Raspberry cream bun run to the West Coast on a Sunday.

We did sneak away in August and at long last we got to see Pink live. Awesome. The winds in September certainly stumped us and gave us our longest power cut since 1975.

Half way through November the soybean importers ran out of stock so we stopped making High Octane to make our soybean meal last until the next shipment arrived. We now have plenty of soybean meal and High Octane calf meal is available again.

The raw material prices have continued to go against us and while the calf meal price should have gone up every month I decided I just didn’t want to go there. So the prices remain the same for the third month in a row. It was a struggle to find peas all season and we have now seemingly exhausted all supplies and have had to look at alternatives. After lots of interesting research I choose lentils to replace peas rather than broad beans or faba beans.

Yet again we run out of bags and Daniel had to make a new stencil (Daniel made the Hi O stencil at age 11) and as the printed bags come from China they take a while to turn up. The temptation is to buy heaps for next year the flip side is if I do buy heaps I will possibly have $10-20k of bags still in the shed at the end of the season.

In October and November with our peak production up 30% from last year often our yard just didn’t seem big enough. What this photo doesn't show is that Interfreight is also towing a flat deck trailer and there is another truck and trailer waiting around the corner.

We always enjoy getting positive feedback from the customers and I always think I must get out and take more photos of customers in action. It has been a tricky season however the end result we are all after is happy healthy calves.

We thank you for your support during 2013 and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2014.

We are no longer open all day or every weekday, however we continue to make calf meal and one of us is generally not too far away, just ring or text before you visit. I look forward to getting on the road again in 2014 and catching up with as many of you as possible.

Cheers

Ken Buckingham