SHINE CALVES
ON WEAVIAN
FARMS
ANOTHER INNOVATION FROM BONANZA CALF NUTRITION
Cath Ratcliffe moved to West Webbery Farm, Bideford, North Devon in 2013 to enable them to expand
their 180 cow herd and to keep their own youngstock as it had previously been a flying herd. Two years
on they are now calving 360 cows in an autumn block, starting in August with most finished in a 10 week
period.
They want a fertile, long lasting, grazing cow to utilize spring and autumn grazing,
with the herd drying off in June and July when the farm can dry up. Target yield is
8,000L and 650kg milk solids. To achieve this they are breeding 3-way cross of
Friesian, Holstein and Swedish Red, picking high PLI bulls with fertility index being
a key priority.
Berry’s Agriculture at Launceston supply the product. Stuart Fry from Bonanza
Calf Nutrition says ‘”It’s great to see our product combined with the excellent
management and stockmanship of the Ratcliffe’s and their staff making a small
contribution to a great business.”
Their youngstock need a good
start to be ready to calve in at
23-24 months to front load the
strict calving pattern, with a
target weight of 340-360kgs at
breeding. After looking at some
calves, Cath and Ian decided to
try the SHINE SYSTEM, to get
calves off to a good start and
save labour.
The first calves reared have now calved into the herd, with good stature, hitting
the growth targets that Ian and Cath planned. “We were dubious of the system at
first but wanted to give it a go with our heifer calves as it suited our block calving
system, rearing up to 200 calves (including bulls/beef) on milk at peak times with
labour already stretched at this time of year.”
Cath Ratcliffe; West Webbery Farm,
Bideford, North Devon
Cath says, “We found that growth rates on the SHINE SYSTEM enabled us to double
birth weights by 8 week weaning, with no weaning check as they ate more dry
food. The success of the system relies on good colostrum management, ensuring
all calves drink their daily requirement of milk and an environment to optimise calf
health – we would also advocate the step system”.
Freephone 0808 1781017
www.bonanzacalf.ie