The Heifer Calf Rearer of the Year 2011 Competition

31 August 2011

The Heifer Calf Rearer of the Year 2011

Sponsored by Volac; supported by XL Vets and British Dairying

Giving young stock the best possible start will pay dividends later for the herd’s future potential with growth rates in the first six weeks impacting on age at first calving and subsequent milk yields. Furthermore, with herd replacements costing an average £1,200 to rear to calving at two years, coupled with an average of 15% of live born heifers failing to even reach first calving, then good practice in calf rearing management has never before been more important.

To raise that awareness, Volac has staged its second Heifer Calf Rearer of the Year award, supported by XL Vets and British Dairying. Open to all farmers rearing heifer replacements throughout Britain, the award received overwhelming interest and support. The initial entries were screened and the shortlist was judged by one of Volac’s regional business managers.

Five  regional finalists located from as far afield as Gloucestershire to Aberdeenshire were selected for final judging by Volac’s calf specialist, Dr Jessica Cooke; a vet from one of XL Vets member practices and British Dairying editor, Mike Green.

Jessica Cooke commented: “Although there were differences between the calf rearing systems across the five finalists – all were successfully achieving the same goal of producing high quality heifers that were well equipped to join the dairy herd. This was the result of a combination of exceptional attention to detail, their knowledge of the importance of the heifer calf to the future dairy herd, and above all their sheer enthusiasm for the job.

“A theme across all farms was the constant drive to review current practice and implement changes to make further improvements. These changes ranged from a few small changes such as the application of tools to assess colostrum quality, water temperature or calf size, to major long-term investments in nutrition, housing or equipment. All units were clearly focused on rearing a high quality heifer calf – it was a pleasure to visit five units all with this common goal.”

Volac will be presenting the overall winner with a computerised feeding system at the Dairy Event and Livestock Show at The NEC, Birmingham on Tuesday 6 September. You are invited to come along to the Volac stand at 3pm to hear the announcement, meet the overall winner and the four finalists and find out more about what it takes to be the Heifer Calf Rearer of the Year.

Back to news