The P.C.R.A.A. closed on 30th June 2011. This website will cease to exist in February 2012.  Any queries can be directed to info@heifermax.com.au.

This is shaping up to be  a brilliant conference with some very up to date, possible controversial & certainly discussion provoking information about calf nutrition being presented. Well worth the trip to Vic for any dairy farmers or calf rearers serious about their business.

 There will be an informal group of people going out to dinner the night before the conference; if you would like to join us, let me know when you register for the conference. 

Phone 0428 867551 to register or for more details

The Professional Calf Rearers’ Association  is holding its annual conference  on January 17^th 2011 at the Ballantyne Centre, Tatura. This is the first day of International Dairy Week and we hope that farmers will take the opportunity to attend our conference and stay for the rest of dairy week.

Since our inception we have had high calibre speakers presenting information a range of calf & dairy heifer related topics; this year is no exception. The theme of this year’s conference is calf nutrition and related information will be presented by four speakers.

 Daviesway, one of our gold sponsors, has kindly offered to sponsor Holger Kruse, sales and marketing manager for Holm & Laue in Germany. Holger will talk about colostrum. Holger is the Sales and Marketing Manager for Holm Laue, Germany. Holm & Laue manufacture automatic calf feeders, Milk Taxis, Colo Quick colostrum handling equipment and calf housing equipment and systems.

Holger has a number of years experience in the calf rearing industry and has in-depth knowledge of the benefits of feeding good quality colostrum in the right volume and temperature to new born calves. His research and experience proves with out a doubt that calves fed good quality colostrum will be healthier, more resistant to disease, develop faster and prove to be high quality milk producing cows.

 Alltech, another gold sponsor,  is providing Dr. Andreas Kocher who  has over 18 years experience in feed supplements and monogastric nutrition. He obtained his Diploma as an Agricultural engineer (Dipl. Ing. Agr. ETHZ) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology before taking up a position as a nutritionist with a large feed mill in Switzerland. In 2000 he attained his Ph.D. from the University of New England, Australia. Andreas is currently based in Australia and employed as Technical Manager and Regulatory Affairs for Alltech Biotechnology.  His role involves technical assistance and support for the sales and marketing teams and establishing key research directions and strategies with particular focus on the role of functional feed additives in modulating intestinal health and integrity. Andreas will be talking about the effect of nutrition on calf health and performance. Two factors are key to determining a calf’s health and survival during the first weeks of life – its immune system and its gut microflora. Understanding how to manipulate these factors through dietary interventions is essential to prevent calf scours, calf mortalities, as well as ensuring good calf growth rates . Novel tools in the field of Nutrigenomics will give scientists and producers a more precise tool to differentiate and identify strategies to maximize not only animal performance but ultimately profitability

It was planned that Dr. John Milton, the highly respected animal nutritionist, Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and Director of his own feed analysis and consultancy company,  Independent Lab Services – would talk about his development of an alternative feeding system for calves. The Milk Substitute Feeding System (MSFS) is designed to be a cost-effective way to rear dairy calves with no liquid milk fed after 15 days of age.

Unfortunately, the severe drought in Western Australia has put so much pressure on Dr. Milton’s feed analysis business that he has had to withdraw. We are in the process of finding a suitable substitute speaker and will publish details when they are available. We can look forward to hearing Dr. Milton talk at a future conference.

Ian Sawyer, another highly experienced ruminant nutritionist, now based in Romsey and working  for Feedworks will present information about optimising ration digestability and animal health in young calves. An understanding of the enzymic systems is a crucial building block in optimising both growth and health in all young animals, including calves.  Understanding the strengths and limitations of the digestive processes in pre-weaned calves allows greater feed digestibility , greater growth and much reduced health challenges . Calves then face a second challenge based around the transition to an operational rumen.  Understanding of energy and amino acid requirement and provision make it very clear the style of calf feeds that should be made available during the weaning phase.

Ian is a commercial Nutritionist who has worked across a wide range of  monogastric and ruminant species including meat chickens , pigs , layer hens , quail, ducks , dairy , beef , fat lambs and even yabbies! These days Ian operates almost exclusively in the ruminant sector , but his experience in monogastric nutrition is a great back ground for calf nutrition.

In a previous role Ian worked for 15 years in the formulation and production of milk replacers, and found the  diagnosing of calf scours over the phone from 500km away, a truly unique challenge that he never really mastered!

 His wide exposure across species  gives him a great platform to comment on the nutrient provision and requirement of growing live stock; some of the basics of successful growth are shared across a diverse range of species, including calves.

 Rather then look for “bandaids” , it is Ian’s belief that an understanding of the basics of nutrition and nutrient requirement will allow the design of  feeding programmes that will offer the calf the best change in terms of both growth and health which inevitably go hand in hand. Ian can also comment on calf challenges more specifically to the group at the conference.

 Included in the price of attendance will be  morning and afternoon teas as well as a light lunch. The Ballantyne Centre will provide dinner in the evening; bookings for this are advisable as the Centre is normally very busy  as it caters  for dinner for many of the  IDW attendees. Meals are “pub style” meals – steak, schnitzels, chicken breasts, lasagne etc.  and most main courses are in the range of $12 to $16.

The conference is free to members and will cost non-members $120. Membership fees were due at the beginning of the financial year and are $100 per person or $275 for corporate membership.

Registrations are essential for catering purposes. To register, call 0428 867551.

A copy of the contract specifications appears below.  

Elders Young Heifer Specifications

SELECTION TO COMMENCE IMMEDIATELY

Please note the cattle selection specifications below for the Elders Reared Holstein Calf Order

Cattle specifications

Breed:                                   Holstein-Friesian Heifers

Pregnancy Status:           Unmated

Age:                                      3-5 months at time of delivery

Weight:                               120kgs+ at time of delivery.

Price:                                  $900 – $950 per head + GST delivered

•  NO PROPERTY OF ORGIN CLEARANCE REQUIRED 
•  NO ON-FARM TESTING REQUIRED

 Pedigree

•  China pedigree requirements apply:

             ~ The heifer’s date of birth must be known.

             ~ The heifers sire must be known and must be an AI or registered animal.

             ~ Additional dam information should be shown where available.

 Cattle health

• Vendor must complete a China vendor declaration at selection.
•  There is no on-farm testing required.
• Cattle with a hernia, ringworm, warts or other sign of ill-health must not be presented for selection or delivered to quarantine.

 NLIS Tags

•  All cattle must be NLIS tagged at time of inspection.

Cattle Health

• Cattle are purchased on the basis that they are healthy at time of delivery into quarantine and are fit to export.
• Cattle with hernia, ringworm, warts or other sign of ill-health must not be presented for selection or delivered.

 Standard Fees

•  Handling Fees = $4.50
•  Database fee = $1.50

 Conformation

• Animals will be subject to Holstein Australian True-to-Type inspection at time of delivery.

             Any animal failing this inspection will be rejected from the shipment at vendor risk.

•  No docked tails.
•  Must have four white socks.
•  Polled or cleanly dehorned cattle only.
•  Must have four sound teats, no spares.

 Delivery

•  Monthly deliveries to Warrnambool, VIC.

 Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock

•  Cattle selection must comply with the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock v2.2.

 Bookings

•  Bookings to National Dairy Coordinator, Ross Gibson 0458 845 190 or to your local Elders  agent.

We have broken away from our traditional time and venue and will hold the 2011 conference in the Ballantyne Centre, which is on the same site as International Dairy Week. It will be held on 17th January, which is the 1st day of IDW, which means that anyone planning on attending IDW will have another reason to make the trip to Tatura, in northern Victoria. The choices of accommodation in the Shepparton area are numerous but it might be a good idea to book early to make sure your first choice is available.

Updates will be posted on the website as soon as we have further information.

We visited two farms, the Horking’s, where they milk about 300 cows and use an automatic calf feeder to feed their calves, and the much larger Coomboona Holsteins dairy, which is milking around 1200 cows.

On the first farm the calves are cared for by family members, on the second, by paid staff. The differing styles of housing and approach of the calf raisers stimulated some interesting questions and attendees were shown two quite different styles of rearing.

Lunch was put on by the Sheridan CWA ladies and was delicious. It was generously sponsored by Redpath Greenhouses. The Horkings have a Redpath Greenhouse as their calf barn and are very happy with it;  Wayne and Brian from Redpath were on site to give a brief talk and to answer any queries about the shelter.  

During lunch, Dr. Rob Bonanno, from the Shepparton Vet Clinic, gave a very interesting talk, which continued on after lunch at the second farm.

The P.C.R.A.A. is very grateful to the two farms for hosting us, Redpath Greenhouses for their generous sponsorship of lunch, Dr. Bonanno for his enlightening talk and the CWA ladies for their wonderful cooking.

Field day attendees keen to learn

Registrations will commence at 10.30 a.m. at the farm of John and Sandra Horkings at Restdown Road, Rochester. Sandra raises their calves in a Redpath Ecoshelter and will talk about her calf rearing methods. A representative of Redpath Greenhouses will be available to answer questions about the shed.

Lunch will be at the Kyabram Masonic Hall and has been generously sponsored by Redpath Greenhouses. During lunch, Dr. Rob Bonanno from the Shepparton Vet clinic will give a talk on calf inductions and good colostrum management.

Following lunch, we will drive to the housed cow Coomboona Holstein dairy facility, at Ross Road, Undera. The calf raiser, Di Hurford will discuss their calf management practices.

There will be no cost to P.C.R.A.A. members; attendance will be $15 for non-members. 2010 membership payments are now due and will give free entry to this field day and to the annual conference in Tatura in January 2011. RSVPs are essential for catering purposes – if you don’t RSVP, you won’t get the delicious lunch provided by the Sheridan CWA group. To register and for further details phone 0428 867551.

The following dairy plant is for sale. It is installed on a farm which was converted from cropping to dairy about 2 years ago and which was sold about 2 months ago.

The new owners have no use for the plant and so would like to sell it before it deteriorates.

 Any reasonable offer will be considered.

 To arrange an inspection, contact Jeanette on 0428 867551

 Dairy plant:

·        a fully automated DeLaval 60 bale rotary platform – recording –         feeding – cup removers – teat spraying and scanning/drafting race,

·         2 x 32,000 vats with heat recovery hot water system,

·         600 head cow yard with backing gate and wash down facility,

·         Hawk roller mill with 2 augers,

·         DeLaval cleaning unit,

·         DeLaval cooling system,

·         Electric switchboard,

·         Automatic feed system, and

·         All the other assorted bits and pieces that go with the dairy.

In lieu of a 2010 conference,  we are planning a field day in central Victoria in late June/early July. The details will be finalised within the next fortnight and will be published on the website.