One season using Sprayfo Blue Premium calf milk replacer has left Russell Vining convinced he has to include it in his budget for this year’s calf crop. Russell owns a 600 cow operation north of Huntly in the Waikato, and last winter decided to break with tradition and use calf milk replacer to rear replacements and some weaner bull calves.
“I had done the maths on it and it was more cost effective to be using Sprayfo Blue Premium whey powder than to be taking milk out of the vat.” He had been told Sprayfo would prove a quality alternative to traditional dairy based calf milk replacers.
He ended up rearing not only his 100 heifer replacements but an additional 80 Hereford cross calves that he sold at weaning on a strong pre-Christmas market. He intends to rear additional calves again this year, and his positive experience last year mean he fully intends to use Sprayfo again.
“I decided to try it and opted for a tonne to see how it went. It proved to mix very well, it had great consistency and did not go lumpy, it was very easy to use, we would just mix it with a bucket of hot water and top up with cold and run it through the calfetaria.
” He found the calves took to the whey powder well, drank strongly and did not scour.
“Looking at them now, they are at least as good as any others we have reared the usual way on colostrum.”
He ran a submersible pump for delivering into the calfetaria, and then re-circulated the milk, with no problems over settling.
“We had used milk powder some time ago, but always seemed to find problems with it blocking up, and not mixing nearly as well as the Sprayfo did. I have been very impressed with it.”
His decision to use it again this year is based not only on grounds of its quality and ease of use, but also the price differential between Sprayfo’s cost, and the return he stands to gain from selling colostrum on supply.
“The difference is too great to ignore, and we have a good new vat for holding the colostrum in.
“Using Sprayfo also ensure we have a consistently good quality milk going to the calves. Often when you store colostrum for calves it inevitably goes lumpy and curdles over time, there is no hassle with that using the powder, and sending the colostrum.”
Last season he fed the calves on Sprayfo up until around 80kg bodyweight, winding the milk back with increased meal feeding, to wean at 100kg.
“The calves have grown good frames and filled out well, you certainly cannot tell they have had anything different to what we have done in the past.”
The ease of mixing, feeding and economics of using Sprayfo means he is considering rearing more calves this year.
“It is easily mixed for the numbers that we do, and there can be some good returns in there for the beef calves – based on last year’s experience they did well and sold well.”
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