Landmark Services Cooperative Board of Directors member
John Doerfer has experimented with several calf management strategies over the
years. He grew up feeding calves in outdoor hutches, spent several years
raising calves in a facility with individual calf stalls and then utilized a
custom calf grower to manage his heifer calves.
After trying several calf raising options, this Verona,
Wis., dairy producer has found an automated calf feeding system to provide the
greatest efficiency and productivity. John credits team cooperation and
planning – much like that of the Landmark team – to the current success of his
dairy calves.
Today, John manages the 700-cow, 4,200-acre operation
with his brother, Gary, and his father, Richard, along with Scott Dahlk, their
herdsman for the past 11 years. Over the years, the team has looked for the
most efficient way to raise calves. They found that hand-feeding the large
amount of calves was labor intensive and missed being able to maintain their
own productivity through custom calf raising.
After much research, the Doerfers opted to build a new
calf facility in the summer of 2012. During the process, the producers looked
to industry experts – including the Landmark team – for advice on equipment
selection, ventilation options and calf nutrition programs.
John Binversie of Landmark Animal Nutrition was a key
contact during the process.
“We purchase all of our proteins for the herd and calf grains
through Landmark, so we talked with John [Binversie] about the feeds we’d be
feeding and how they’d work with the system we had in mind,” John Doerfer says.
“With calves being born every day, our calves are a big investment, so we made
sure to have the right feeding program in place.”
The feeding advice from Landmark was put to use as the
Doerfers began building their 60-by-156-foot new calf facility complete with
automated calf feeders, ventilation tubes and adjustable curtains for adequate
temperature control. Calves were added to the facility in July with a smooth
transition to the new system.
“The system is working better than we could imagine,” Doerfer
says, citing good growth rates and reduced labor required.
Today, newborn calves are fed colostrum within the first
few hours of life and supplemented with Calf Guard and Inforce 3. Calves are
then placed in individual Calf-Tel calf hutches for their first three days of
life with heat lamps placed above the hutch if needed.
At day three, calves are moved into the group feeding
system in groups of 25. Calves remain in these groups through their growing
stage to prevent pecking issues.
The biggest advantage to the new system, Doerfer says, was
the addition of two DairyFeed automated calf feeders from GEA Farm
Technologies. With the automated calf feeders, calves enter one of four calf
feeding stations where they consume milk replacer. A computer reads each calf’s
individual RFID eartag to determine the amount of milk replacer the calf is
allotted.
The system then heats water to 102 degrees Fahrenheit,
mixes and dispenses milk replacer based on the calf’s individual needs. The system
is set so levels of milk replacer are increased automatically for each calf
over time.
Calves enter the feeding station up to five times each
day until their individual allotment has been consumed. At the maximum feeding
level, each calf consumes 2.5 gallons (or 9 liters) of milk replacer per day.
By day 44, milk replacer levels begin to drop so a smooth weaning transition
can occur at day 54.
After each calf consumes its feeding, water is circulated
through the system to rinse out milk replacer and then it is fed to the calf. Doerfer
notes that this water has prevented calves from suckling in the group.
Calf consumption levels and the speed that calves consume
their milk replacer are recorded through a computer system in an adjacent room.
The Doerfers and their team of employees monitor milk replacer levels and
trends to determine growth rates and calf performance.
“All the calves feed steadily throughout the day, so it’s
pretty obvious when a calf isn’t feeling well,” John says. “If the computer
shows a calf is off milk, we are able to look for ways to solve the problem and
get the calf back on track.”
So far, he says that scours and health issues have been
minimal with the new system.
When it comes to milk versus milk replacer, the farm
first considered feeding pasteurized milk from treated cows.
“We realized quickly that we didn’t have enough treated
milk to feed all of the calves,” Doerfer says. “We’re in the business to sell
milk, so the quality milk that we have is marketed. We went with a Land O’Lakes
Animal Milk Products milk replacer program (Cow’s Match ColdFront and Cow’s
Match WarmFront based on season) and the calves have really done well on it.”
Other than computer maintenance and adding milk replacer
powder to the system twice daily, Doerfer says the automated calf feeding system
is fairly self-sufficient.
“The feeder self-cleans three times per day and we change
the nipples twice a day to sanitize them. Feeding calves this way is more
management than manual labor and that’s worked well for us,” he says.
Ampli-Calf starter feed is fed to the calves twice per
day to ensure that feed is always available, fresh straw is added every other
day and the pens are cleaned weekly, allowing calf managers to observe calves
for health issues.
“When compared to hand-feeding, this system requires
about one-half to one-third the labor,” Doerfer estimates. “We’re really happy
with the system. We’ve put about 300 calves through it since July and they’ve
grown great and transitioned well through weaning.”
“Our goal has always been to double the calf’s weight
from birth to weaning – and it required a lot more management to reach that
goal before,” he adds. “Today, we’re more than doubling birth weights before 54
days of age and we’re able to track growth rates. We’re really happy with the
system.”
