LEFT Heifer calves are contract reared from 10 weeks of age.
BOTTOM Calved are reared in hutches with a part-time calf rearer managing this area..
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Since January 2011 we’ve had 110 Excellent cows, including multiple Excellents and find classification a very useful tool alongside the Cogent Mating Service in helping us match bulls to individual cows
Health management across the herd is based on preventing rather than treating problems, with a vaccination plan in place for all key diseases, including BVD, Leptospirosis, Salmonella and IBR. “We’re also particular about calf health, ensuring calves receive four to five litres of colostrum in the first two hours of life and have recently invested in calf hutches to help calf health in the early part of life.” Following the erection of a new 300-cow shed three years ago all cows lie on Comfort matresses bedded with sawdust and lime, while the long-term plan is for a new parlour to allow the whole herd to be milked through one parlour.
“Cows are managed in groups, with a high yielding group, a mid yield batch and a group of lows, while calved heifers are in their own separate group and fresh calved cows stay in a separate group for three weeks prior to joining the main herd.
“This again allows us to stay on top of individual cows and means fresh calved cows have plenty of time to adjust before they are in among a bigger group of milking cows.”
But while staying on top of herd health and management is top of the list for the Muldrews they say being a large herd doesn’t make things any
easier when it comes to milk price fluctuations. “Volatility affects all farms whether you’re milking 65 cows or 650 cows. There is no big buffer to protect us as a larger herd and in some ways the price drops hit us harder as the amount of money we’re dealing with is much larger.
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“Our hope is that by calving all year round we can spread the workload and make efficient use of all resources, including the parlour, buildings and machinery and at the same time spread some of the risk and ensure a more even cash flow,” adds Trevor.
34 THE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2015
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