Dairy Farmer

The management of calf rearing and the standard of housing facilities are key factors in the overall health, welfare and performance of calves. So how do you get things right when individual systems are so varied?

Nowadays most dairy farmers understand good colostrum management is key, but exactly what that entails is more often a point of debate.

Getting the optimum quantity and quality of colostrum is key for new born calves – but making the right choice when it comes to following on from colostrum onto milk replacers is also vital.

For Mark and Susie Mottershead, who farm at The Brook, Wrexham, the 2020 lockdown prompted a focus on calves within their pedigree Holstein herd which were not performing as well as they wanted them to.

When rearing all your own replacement heifers within a closed herd, the team at the University of Edinburgh’s Langhill Farm says it is particularly important calves get off to a good start.

Dairy, beef and sheep farmers are being encouraged to record their on-farm antibiotic use via Medicine Hub, either via their vet or individually.

Through better calf rearing facilities and the initiation of early life vaccination against pneumonia, the Hann family has seen significant improvements in the health and well-being of the calves in their pedigree Holstein herd at Rodden Down, Frome, Somerset.

With rising costs and the need to be carbon conscious, breeding productive, efficient and profitable dairy cattle has never been so paramount.

There is a mixture of new and familiar names in the latest bull proofs published this week by AHDB. Katie Jones takes a look at some of the front runners.

A 90 per cent rate calved within six weeks is currently being achieved by a Leicestershire-based farming couple who started out as new entrants in the late 1990s. Wendy Short reports.