increase font size
A new calf cereal with no palm kernel expeller (PKE) is on sale for the calving season, says developer Agrifeeds.
The cereal (Grower 16 and Grower 20) is designed to help farmers and calf rearers reach targeted calf growth and profit and “to bring calves to peak condition sooner,” the company says.
“Customers said they wanted a nutritious calf feed with no PKE and at an affordable price,” says Agrifeeds general manager Braden Waite.
Working with farmers and a ruminant nutritionist, Dr Bryan McKay, the company devised “the best value-for-money calf feed in the New Zealand market,” Waite says. Grower 20 is now “the only calf feed in NZ with dairy as its protein source”.
“We worked hard to understand what farmers and rearers wanted in calf feed. We went on farms, asked lots of questions and mostly just listened.”
Farmers wanted fresh, PKE-free calf feed delivered on time every time and reasonably priced, Waite says.
Cambridge calf rearer Hamish Macdonald uses 30 tonnes of Grower 16 and one tonne of Grower 20 per year, says Agrifeeds. He likes the two sources of starch in Grower and the milk protein.
His 750 calves a year do well on Grower 20 and he may switch to an “affordable” PKE-free version.
Some demand for a PKE-free product is due to young animals coping with it better, and its lower pressure on the environment, Waite says.
Grower 20 is a 20% protein calf starter feed suitable for calves on milk to stimulate their rumen development. It will support early feed intake and can be offered from four days old.
Once calves have been weaned off milk they can be switched to Grower 16 which suits weaned calves weighing 70 to 80kg reared on a quality calf starter. Grower 16 contains safe starch levels so suits ad lib feeding.
Molasses, sweeteners and flavours enhance the taste and increase animals’ energy supply, says Agrifeeds.
The Grower range is available in 20kg bags, one tonne bags and in a bulk silo option.
Dairy farmers' reliance on imported palm kernel expeller (PKE) as a supplementary feed faces headwinds amid shifting consumer preferences and environmental obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says AgFirst Waikato consultant Raewyn Densley.
OPINION: Fonterra has quietly offloaded its 50% stake in Agrifeeds, a major importer of palm kernel expeller into New Zealand.
Fonterra is pulling out of another non-core business – importing palm kernel expeller.
What should you do when your milk fat percentage has fallen?
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.
OPINION: Who will replace Miles Hurrell as Fonterra's next CEO?
OPINION: Governments all over the world are dealing with the fuel crisis.
