Maximising returns from growing heifers webinar Q&A

On 20 October 2020, Phil Kinch from Buscot Wick Farm, along with independent nutrition consultant Hefin Richards, explore the principles of maximising growth of the growing heifers. Here you can find a full list of the questions, along with the answers, taken from the webinar.

Can you confirm the culled/barren percentage of Sept 2019?

28 heifers calved in Sept 2019 and records show 26 remain in the herd – 3.6% exit rate

Would you please Elaborate DMI for calf?

Dry matter intake is typically between 2.5-3% of bodyweight, so  we would expect a 12kg kg calf to eat around 3-3.5kg of dry matter a day. This equates to around 4kg fresh weight of concentrate/straw. Achieving this requires good access to clean fresh feed and water and a palatable and well balanced ration.

Thank you for the informative webinar, it is stated that don't fed more energy to heifers because it negatively impacts on the growth of mammary glands? It is true or not please clear it?

Overfeeding energy –( especially in the form of starch and in the absence of sufficient protein) to prepubescent heifers can lead to fat deposition in the developing udder tissue and it is believed that this limits milk production due to reduced numbers of milk secretory cells. The 9-13 month stage is critical and it may be wise to ensure that dlwg at this stage is maintained at 0.8-0.9kg/d rather than 1kg + - weighing essential to monitor this at all stages.

How do you think you can overcome challenges with external heifer rearers? Do you think that targets should be stipulated in the contract and if so what as a minimum?

Yes and Yes! Weight and height for age targets relevant to the herd should be communicated and in my view bonuses paid based on the % of animals on target. Many contracts currently actually reward failure and encourage either delayed breeding in order to maximise animals on the rearing unit – (especially when grazing, since rearer margin will be higher then than when housed), or marginally underdeveloped heifers at calving which go on to underperform. Paying a premium for heifers on target and penalising those below gives the rearer the opportunity to increase revenue through improving performance – i.e. they should make more money out of a 600kg 23m old heifer than a 26m old 575kg heifer.

Is the use of meat meal practiced in dairy rations?

Meat meal and fishmeal have been excluded from all ruminant rations across the EU since 1996 and meat meal was only minimally used prior to that. Vegetable proteins and amino acids are used to balance protein requirements in growing and adult cattle. It is permitted and used in other parts of the world.

Are there any financial benefits to getting them over target weight? 

Providing that the targets are realistic and in line with industry standards, exceeding these is unlikely to provide much if any financial benefit. Conception to calving is a fixed period of time, so if animals have reached target bulling weight and conceived in an acceptable window, they should calve down close to or at target weight – age will vary. Exceeding growth rate targets is likely to have come at a cost and may also be detrimental to good udder tissue development.