Higher Feeding Rates Pencil Out

If I said it was possible to increase the daily dry-matter intake in a lactating dairy herd by 2 to 3%, most dairy producers would perk up and listen intently. Even a 1% increase is worth pursuing. So, it should be even more interesting to note that you can increase dry-matter intake by 20 to 50% or more per day in preweaned calves, simply by putting it in front of them.

Just as your cows need more dry matter to perform optimally, so, too, do your calves. And it’s relatively easy to do. 

The age-old industry standard of 2 quarts of 20:20 milk replacer, fed twice a day – the equivalent of about 1 pound of powder per day -- has finally given way to a trend in new and improved feeding methods. Various combinations of higher feeding rates, increased feeding frequency, and higher solids content all are producing improved results in terms of health, stature growth, and weight gain.

Feeding more milk, and potentially more often, gets us a lot closer to the way Mother Nature intended to raise bovine babies. Think about how a beef calf nursing its dam eats – frequent meals, with a daily milk allowance much higher than 2 quarts. In what other species do we limit-feed infants?

“Virtually everyone who has adopted a higher feeding rate will tell you their calves now are healthier.”

In fact, the old “standard” feeding formula probably would be better named the “sustenance” formula, because it barely did much more than that. A ration of 2 quarts of 20:20 milk replacer per day fed to a 100-pound calf would provide maintenance nutrients plus enough additional nutrition for a 0.25-lb. daily gain. And that’s without any additional challenges from weather, stress or illness.

But does it pay?

Cost still is the major objection to feeding more milk replacer. But when you consider the scenario above, it becomes clear that you really can’t afford not to feed more. Calves will partition their nutrient intake first to maintenance, then growth, and next immunity – all the things an animal’s body does to protect itself from disease.

Virtually everyone who has adopted a higher feeding rate will tell you their calves now are healthier. It’s hard to quantify the total value of “healthier” calves, but the savings include reduced costs for medications, veterinary care, and labor. Added to those are the less-tangible events like reduced rates of permanent lung damage and lower cull rates. Plus, calf health incidents tend to be cascading events – about 70% of calves diagnosed with pneumonia had a previous case of scours.

We know from a large body of sound research that heifer calves fed more nutrients early in life will produce about 1,500 to 2,000 pounds more milk in their first lactations alone. A milk price of $15.00/cwt. and a cost of production of $12.00/cwt. would provide net milk income of $3.00/cwt. So, 1,500 pounds of extra milk generates an additional $45.00 per cow.

Let’s assume we also can knock off 2 months from age at first calving – for example, calving at 22 months instead of 24. Using a rearing cost of $2.00/head/day, that saves an additional $120/head, for a positive net total of $165/head when milk revenue is added. Even if we only calved them one month earlier, the net benefit per head still would be $105.

Finally, there is the additional cost of a higher feeding rate to consider. Raising a calf by the old standard of 1 lb. of 20:20 powder per day would require about a bag of milk replacer, at a cost of approximately $50. If we select a higher-protein product, the cost per bag would be about $70, and let’s say we double the feeding rate to 2 lb. per day. That’s a total cost of $140 per calf, or a net expense increase of $90. So even our less-profitable scenario of a $105 net benefit still pencils out.

Twenty years ago, 60 to 70% of calf raisers fed a pound of powder per day. Today, that figure is less than 50%. If you haven’t already increased your feeding rate, I encourage you to do so. Your healthier, more profitable replacement heifers will reward you for it.

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