Ensuring calves get the best start in life is vital to the long-term viability of the 1000-cow dairy unit at Roadhead Farm, Quothquan, Biggar.
Owned by Geoff and Aileen Hewitt, with son Adam, helping to run the farm, they see some 90-110 calves born per month when calving takes place all year round.
Calves are allocated to one of seven purpose-built calf sheds until post weaning, around 10 weeks of age.
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Initially three calf sheds were built in 2019 and such was their success that another three were constructed in 2022, with the seventh installed last year. Each shed is identical, and houses 50 calves at a time, with fans throughout for fresh air and ventilation. Calves also have access to concrete paddocks outside. All work was completed by BHC, a company owned by Geoff’s brother, Brian.
Calves get iodine applied to their navels when born and are then given four litres of colostrum – either from their mother or frozen. Cows’ colostrum is all tested and enhanced with SCCL powdered colostrum to ensure any maternal sample which does not meet the desired IgG concentration is fed at a minimum concentration of 28 BRIX. The dam is also given 20litres of the high energy Reviva drink after calving. Five calves are randomly blood sampled weekly to test their total proteins which ensures antibody absorption is on target.
Initially, calves are housed in pens of five and fed Roadhead protecta calf twice a day for the first 10 days along with Roadhead safestart milk powder. Safestart is a complete milk replacer enriched with vitamins, electrolytes and glucose. Since launching, it has contributed to better immunity and resistance in newborn calves and has helped calves fight off challenges including pneumonia in the first 14 days.
At 14 days, the calves move onto the automatic Forster technik feeders with either Roadhead Gold or Roadhead Blue milk powders. These products are sold through the feed mill and are on continuous trial to monitor calf performance.
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As soon as a calf enters a milk station, it is recognised by an electronic transponder and drinks according to the calf’s feeding plan, the Forster Technik calf feeder decides if it is allowed to drink, and how much.
A minimum and maximum portion of milk per visit can be set for each calf, and the calf feeder will automatically determine the ration per calf. The machine also cleans itself automatically resulting in better hygiene.
Calves are on the automatic feeders until eight weeks of age when they are weaned. The machine has a weaning programme in that calves are fed a maximum of eight litres per a day which falls to 1.5litres at weaning.
“Morning feeds are the first to be cut out – if calves are not fed in the morning they are up looking around and hopefully will eat concentrates instead,” said Geoff, adding that a company calf crunch is fed from day two. They also have access to fresh straw to chew on which is changed daily and Himalayan rock salt.
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“Straw hecks are emptied daily and fresh straw is always provided. We have noticed this has improved intakes of long fibre and consequently has improved rumen function,” said Geoff.
“They don’t eat any volume to begin with, however the sooner they can get used to it the better. The first 12 weeks of life is critical for rumen development to ensure dairy calves grow to their maximum potential.
“Rumen development in a calf directly affects feed intakes, nutrient digestibility and overall growth. Even minor changes in the early feeding regime and nutrition can drastically influence rumen development, which in turn can affect the long-term growth, health, and milk yields of the adult animal,” he added, pointing out that any poorly calves are given a company revitalise rehydration drink, which is designed to aid the natural digestion of milk in newborn calves and has proven to stop diarrhoea within 24 hours.
Calf sheds are cleaned out weekly to prevent pneumonia, with the small pens of five cleaned out daily. When a shed has completed a full cycle of calves, the building is mucked out, power washed and treated with bio cyst disinfectant ready for the next batch of calves.
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“Hygiene has got to be right for calves. It would have been cheaper for us to build one big shed for calves, but we wouldn’t be able to have cleaned them properly, or as often and disease would back up,” said Geoff.
Both Geoff, and sales specialists Annie Bryson and Sarah Baker, enjoy and spend a great deal of time with calves both at home and across the country with customers. In the last few years this side of the feed mill has grown massively, with a lot of product and management trials being carried out at home.
Calves are tissue tested for BVD, and vaccinated for IBR and clostridia before weaning. They are then vaccinated for IBR, leptospirosis and clostridia before insemination, followed with IBR again prior to calving.
At 10 weeks of age, beef and dairy calves are split and housed separately. Beef calves are sold store at 12 months of age privately to Geoff’s brother, Brian, who finishes them. All Holstein heifers are retained and inseminated with sexed semen and are followed up with an Aberdeen Angus bull at grass which is used to chase up any that fail to hold.
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First insemination – using Genus’ Gene advance contract – is at 14-15 months of age with an average of 1.7 inseminations per pregnancy, with heifers calving down at 23-24 months.
Sexed semen is used on the top 40% of the milking cows, with the remaining 60% served using Aberdeen Angus semen. The herd is achieving a calving index of 366 days in milk, with 40% of the herd holding to the first conception, and cows will be given a maximum of 200 days to get in calf.
To achieve such figures, Tinto Farm vets, Sarah and Chris visit on a weekly basis to keep on top of pregnancy rates fertility checks and look at calves.
Once cows’ calve they are put into the fresh group for a few days to check that they are free from dry cow antibiotic tubes and are fit and well to join the rest of the herd.
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Cows are weekly locomotion scored with any needing attention seen by a foot trimmer on his weekly visit. Feet are trimmed at 60 days calved and prior to drying off when they are also blood tested and moved to the dry cow shed. All housed cattle are put through a foot bath twice a week.
The dry cow diet consists of a two-stage feed plan for feeding both dry and transition cows. This has been developed to prepare the cow for lactation by enabling a rapid increase in dry matter intake after calving. The initial diet includes two kg of a home mill dry cow blend, designed to maintain body condition with adequate energy intake, and at three weeks pre-calving they are moved into a close-up calving group and supplemented with four kg of company reassure pre-calver blend. This aims to encourage healthy development of the rumen wall and microbial population to prepare the cow for increase energy requirement during lactation.
Cows are also vaccinated against leptospirosis, clostridia and IBR annually.
Cows are milked three times a day, through a 70-point rotary parlour, with each milking taking three hours. Average daily milk yields stand at 38.2litres at 3.24%P at 4.1%BF, all of which is sold through a Grahams contact.
Management is improved with the use of cow manager’s ear sensors which measure ear temperature combined with eating, rumination, and activity, to ensure earlier alerts in cow behaviours. These allow early identification of heats, highlights sick animals before they show clinical signs.
Milking cows are housed all year round in two big open plan 550-cubicle sheds with mattresses and sawdust.
Milking cows are fed a TMR mix comprising silage, wholecrop, Roadhead hi-energy wagon blend, chopped straw and draff. Additionally, they are fed a company platinum 18%P dairy cake according to yield in the parlour and have access to a Himalayan rock salt in the cubicles.
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Four cuts of 1000 acres of grass are taken every year for silage, however with no sheep to tidy up the fields, it sometimes ends up being five, with all work completed in house.
The family also grow 100 acres of whole crop, and this year they are also trialling maize for silage. Along with 485 acres of barley and 140 acres of wheat all of which is sold to the feed mill.
“The business doesn't run smoothly without the aid of the full team, having keen motivated staff who are committed to their responsibilities. We are blessed here to have such a team.
“It works well having our own feed mill on farm as we never run out,” said Geoff, who creates all of the products.
Having produced a quality feed for his own farm, he then launched Roadhead Farm Feeds in 2003 in order to supply nutritious feeds to other local farmers.
“We have always used our own stock for any feed and performance trials, obtaining first hand results for ourselves which is beneficial for us to continually improve and promote our feed and milk ranges,” he said adding that it provides an assortment of feeds mostly for the dairy industry along with custom-made blends and other feeds for the poultry sector.
It is however very much a roller coaster industry.
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“Feed prices are very volatile. It is such a gamble knowing when the right time is to buy raw materials. Like all industries costs have continued to rise, but we need to see a return for it.
“Climate change, export patterns, legislation and fluctuating foreign exchange rates mean the markets have to be monitored daily to supply the feed mill.
“We are hopeful of the future of the dairy industry, it is looking brighter we just have to hope that the milk price increases to cover the input costs,” said Geoff.
However, he added that there is always something on the go on farm and he would like to focus on a new dry cow facility this year as well as heifer accommodation in the near future.
“We are sitting at nice numbers at the moment, but you can never sit still in today’s world,” concluded Geoff.
Farm Facts
Involvement: Geoff and Aileen Hewitt, and son, Adam, along with eight full-time members of staff on farm and some part time.
Livestock numbers: 1059 Holstein cows.
Farm acreage: 1400 acres.
History: Moved to Roadhead from Ireland in 1982, which was then a 205-acre farm.
Best investment? Custom built calf sheds.
Best advice? Calves of today are your cows of the future.
Biggest achievement? Establishment of Roadhead Farm Feeds – delivering various feeds without comprising quality and supporting farmers to achieve their best possible outcome.
Where do you see the dairy industry in 2024? I believe the dairy industry is more positive now than it was five years ago. Farmers need to embrace technology, become more efficient and evolve to remain successful in the industry.
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