Eringold milk replacer delivering tremendous calf growth rates

November of last year saw Caleb Howard, who farms on the outskirts of Coagh in Co Tyrone, start his new dairying enterprise courtesy of an investment in a Lely A5 robot, the purchase of 65 Holstein cows and heifers in tandem with the development of a new shed and yard complex.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Sep 2020, 08:55 BST

And so far, it’s been a case of the business going from strength to strength. Caleb explained: “The cows are currently averaging 35L per day and are on target to produce around 10,000L during their current lactation.

“I don’t have the capacity to increase the number of animals in the system. My aim is to breed better cows through the use of sexed semen on heifers and specifically selected animals within the main milking group.

“The cows not needed to produce replacements will be AI-bred to a selection of top Aberdeen Angus and Belgian Blue sires.

“All the beef-bred calves will be finished on the farm.”

Given this scenario, Caleb puts a tremendous focus on giving all the calves born on the farm the best possible start.

He explained: “All the newborns are given their full requirement of colostrum as soon as possible after birth. They are then raised in individual pens and transitioned on to Eringold milk replacer.”

Caleb offers the calves 6L of milk per day, split equally between morning and evening feeds. Eringold Extra powder is added at a rate of 150g/L.

“The calves are really thriving on the milk,” he said.

“They are growing tremendously well. A high quality starter is made available from day four with ad lib clean water on offer at all times. Straw is available as a roughage.

“The calves are weaned when they are eating in excess of 1.5 kilos of concentrate per day.

“I have found that the Eringold milk also encourages the calves to eat meal, making the weaning process very easy on them.”

Caleb purchases the Eringold Extra powder from Ulster Livestock Care in Coagh. The business is owned by the Howard family.

Eringold’s Chris and Robert Mollan were recent visitors to the Howard farm.

Chris explained: “Eringold Extra contains high quality whey protein. This allows the calves to consume up to 900g of the powder on a daily basis, without incurring digestive problems.

“The key benefit of taking this approach can be easily seen in the tremendous growth rates achieved by the calves while they are on the milk.

“Research has shown that if dairy farmers want to successfully achieve a 24-month, first calving date, managing them properly during the first 12 weeks of life is critically important.

“Eringold Extra helps make this possible. Research has also confirmed that heifers start to lay down udder tissue during the first three months of life.

“Again, feeding calves Eringold Extra milk helps boost this process.”

Chris continued: “Beef-bred calves also need the best possible start. And it is in this context that Eringold Extra can play a critically important role.”

For further information, contact Chris Mollan on 07739 061672.