Calf rearers Andy and Sharon Howard fed AgriVantage Sprayfo Blue Premium and Sprayfo Red calf milk replacers for the first time in 2017. Because it was so easy to mix, and the calves grew well, they’ll continue using it. No question.
Based in Sheffield, Canterbury, the Howards rear 600 calves annually with the objective of reaching a target weight of 100kg LW in 11 to 12 weeks.
They’ve fed whey milk powder for many years but only learned about Sprayfo when their Hazlett Rural rep called in on farm with AgriVantage Business Manager Warren Tanner.
“We decided to give Sprayfo a go because it was cost-competitive, and we saw how easily it mixed” says Sharon.
“We mix and feed the calves manually, so having a product that meant less work was a big selling point for us.”
Andy, who does all the mixing, confirms that the Sprayfo products mixed in half the time it took with other brands.
AgriVantage’s Sprayfo calf milk replacers are manufactured by Trouw Nutrition.
The unique Spray Dry manufacturing process makes for a unique and consistently high quality, optimally soluble and digestible milk replacer.
Following colostrum, Andy and Sharon fed the calves Sprayfo Blue Premium from 4 days.
Another unique feature of Sprayfo is that the all-important protein encapsulates the fat.
This means the most important ingredient for the animals’ growth is available first and absorbed faster. Rumen development is optimised.
“Last year, I felt the calves did well from the word ‘go’” says Andy.
“This year, it was the same. But we also noted how easily the calves transitioned from milk onto hard feed.
“We believe rumen development was a lot more advanced come weaning.
“With Sprayfo, we’ve seen accelerated growth rates. And we had maybe two tail-enders at weaning, where we had at least 10 in the past.”
Sharon agrees, but notes they made other changes which have contributed to more successful calf rearing.
“Last year we moved to in shed compartment feeding which helped to ensure every calf got the right amount of milk” explains Sharon.
“Those with similar drink speeds were put into the same mob. They went outside to trough feeding based on their milking (drinking) speed, not on size.”
In shed the calves are fed Sprayfo Blue Premium. Once outside (at 3 to 4 weeks old) they arre switched to Sprayfo Red, a more economical milk powder suited to feeding from 14 days old.
“We’d recommend Sprayfo to other farmers because it works well” concludes Andy.
“Less labour intensive is a good start. But quicker weaning and healthy calves makes it extremely cost-effective for us to use.”
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