What’s in the bag?

Words by: Paul Muir

Colostrum and whole milk are always the best feeds to offer young calves. However, if milk feeding is not possible there is a large array of substitute powders available to the rearer. They are not dried milk powders, so using “milk powder” as a name would likely contravene the Fair Trading Act. Instead they are called calf milk replacers (CMRs) and are made up of a range of products blended to meet minimum protein and fat specifications. They can contain a wide range of ingredients, and the lack of clear specifications on the bag means it is almost impossible for rearers to make an informed decision.

In calves up to three weeks of age the digestive system is poorly developed and the calf can digest only a limited range of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Curding appears to be necessary to enable full utilisation of complex proteins. When calves are fed whole milk, its casein proteins curd in the abomasum where they break down gradually (over eight hours) and the products of digestion are released slowly into the small intestine where absorption occurs.

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The abomasum has a low pH that is not conducive to bacterial growth, but in the small intestine pH is neutral and bacteria can grow. If a milk replacer doesn’t curd in the abomasum then the undigested material is released much faster into the small intestine (1.5 hours). This excess substrate can cause potential issues in young calves if bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella are present.

Generally (but not always) calf milk replacers will curd if they contain casein proteins. If CMRs don’t curd it is often because the casein in whole milk or skim milk has been excessively heat treated and the casein proteins denatured. Another reason is that the whole milk and skim milk powders make up only a small proportion of the ingredients.

In the last 20 years we have seen the advent of cheaper whey-based powders, principally from Europe. They are mainly used in the vealer industry where calves are typically fed 350-380kg of CMR to 120kg CW at 28 weeks. Production of whey powders in Europe is on a huge scale – the Netherlands has 1.2 million vealer calves and produces around 700,000 tonnes of CMR annually. By comparison, New Zealand uses less than 20,000 tonnes of CMR annually.

DANISH MILK REPLACER LABEL

Paul Muir, Managing Director of On-Farm Research

There are some fundamental differences between the rearing systems in Europe and New Zealand. In Europe, calves are a minimum of 7-10 days old (and often much older) before they are transferred from the dairy farm to a vealer operation. Contrast that with the four days of age that is the New Zealand requirement. Even though European calves are older and more robust when they are on-sold into vealer operations they are initially fed on a curding-casein based CMR. In New Zealand CMRs are expensive, yet the labelling on bags is poor – often there is a minimum fat and minimum protein content and a long list of ingredients that may or may not be

Composition: 24% Protein 19% Fat 6.8% Minerals 0.01% Crude fibre 1.8% Lysine 0.60% Methionine 0.25% Cystine 1.12% Threonine

Ingredients: 60.25% Skim milk powder 17.95% Cheese whey powder 17.5% Vegetable fat 3.0% Wheat starch 1.3% Premix vitamins and minerals

Curd test:

Make up 500ml of milk replacer as per the instructions on the bag. Keep it at 39º C (set the oven and use a thermometer) and add 5ml of rennet. A good curd should be formed within 20 minutes. Do exactly the same with some blue top milk so you can see what a really good curd looks like, although even a good quality milk replacer is likely to have a poorer curd than blue top milk.

Unfortunately, most people do not do a curd test until concerns over calf health become apparent in the shed. It is very hard to argue your case after you have paid for the milk replacer and used half the product. It is much easier to do the curd test before you start using the milk replacer.

present in the bag. The labelling is such that it is almost impossible for purchasers to make an informed decision.

It is interesting to contrast what is available in NZ with what occurs overseas. In some European countries where the labeling requirements are stricter, more detailed information is required on the amount of and type of ingredients in the product.

One of the arguments used by New Zealand manufacturers is that their bags are pre-printed and ingredients change. However, in Europe, labels are sewn onto the bags prior to dispatch meaning bags do not have to have pre-printed ingredient lists.

Our recommendation has always been that products fed to young calves should curd. The time to feed non-curding milk replacers is when calves are older than 3 weeks. Unfortunately, New Zealand calf milk replacers have neither a curd test result nor a detailed ingredient list so it is down to the individual rearer to do a curd test. This can be done simply at home.

• Dr Paul Muir is Managing Director of On

Farm Research in Hawkes Bay. He has been involved in calf rearing research, principally focusing on systems for rearers of bull calves, since 1996.

One shot does the trick

Trying to solve the complex trace element demands in her dairy herd has meant moving to an easy one-shot injection for cows and calves for Manawatu dairy farmer Aimee Fargher.

Aimee rears 190 spring-born replacement heifers and Friesian bulls and beef cross calves from her parents’ Rongotea farm, using a two-shed system for younger and then older calves.

Low copper has always been an issue in the herd, and wishing to address that plus any selenium deficiency was going to mean two injections for each cow – one dose a copper product and the other a selenium/B12 combo.

“The vet suggested we try the MULTIMIN ® product and we love the fact that it’s just one shot. The cows tend to get wary if we try to inject them with too many products so the fewer the better.”

MULTIMIN ® contains the trace elements copper and selenium, along with manganese and zinc – all of which are important for different aspects of immunity, fertility and growth and development in different classes of animals.

“The cows certainly seem to be healthier – we had a period of no cows in the penicillin mob which is always a good thing,” Aimee said.

“Blood tests also came back with good mineral levels this year,” she added.

Thinking that the cows needed these minerals, the family decided to use MULTIMIN ® in the calves as well, and Aimee said their calves did very well last season, the first year they had used the product.

“The injection seems to really give them a boost – they seemed healthier and brighter and seemed to be eating and growing faster than in previous years.”

Aimee is the calf-rearer and has two sheds one for the beginners and then for the older calves. She weighs all the calves weekly and puts them outside when they reach 55kg, with access to the sheds for when the weather is unfavourable.

Recent research 1 in dairy calves on New Zealand farms has shown the potential immune effects of treating with MULTIMIN ® at birth, as the highest levels of disease occur in the first few weeks of life. Disease was reduced by 52%, and death rates dropped by 58% in calves treated with MULTIMIN ® .

Protecting Peake fertility

Using a shot of trace elements prior to mating has helped Ben and Heather Peake from Southern Peake Dairies maintain a consistent high reproduction performance for the past three years.

As sharemilkers, Ben said it was important for them to protect their cows, their biggest asset, and after researching other mineral delivery systems he decided an injection of MULTIMIN ® was the best way to make sure his cows were actually getting the trace elements.

“We were keen to make sure the cows were getting the optimum range of minerals for mating. We use quite a few CIDRs in our 800-cow Canterbury herd as we build our herd index and we wanted to make sure we were getting the best return on our investment.”

MULTIMIN ® provides the cows with a lift in copper, zinc, manganese and selenium when demand is peaking and through a period of feed constraint when the trace elements may be lacking.

The elements have recently been found to support reproductive success – with manganese protecting the developing eggs within the ovaries, zinc building the health of the uterine lining where the fertilised egg embeds and grows, and selenium helping to protect the growing embryo.

A New Zealand study 2 in adult dairy cows has shown the benefit of supplementing with MULTIMIN ® prior to calving and mating, even where blood and liver testing has not identified a deficiency. Treated cows had a 3.3% higher final in-calf rate and got in calf 3.4 days earlier on average.

The trace element shot four weeks before mating provides 40 days coverage and has kept six-week in-calf rates in the high 70s, Ben said. He also makes sure all replacement calves are dosed with MULTIMIN ® within 24 hours of birth to increase their immunity.

MULTIMIN ® is a unique multiple trace element injection, that contains copper, selenium, zinc and manganese. It is designed to be administered to stock prior to periods of high demand, is rapidly absorbed, and has been scientifically proven in NZ.