Two free bags of Volac calf milk

Farmers buying a pallet of Volac calf milk replacer during May can claim two free bags to help save money on high quality calf nutrition.

Volac, a British family owned and operated business, is keen to support under pressure UK beef and dairy farmers who commit to feeding calves a proven, high performance milk replacer product made from milk sourced from British farms.

According to Volac global technical manager for calf milks, Ian Watson, overall ingredient quality is now a key feature calf rearers are looking for from their milk replacer product.

“Alongside excellent performance credentials, provenance and sustainability are now prized key features even in a falling milk price environment,” he said.

Cut through the confusion

Mr Watson added that interpreting what can often seem conflicting nutritional advice can sometimes make calf rearing seem challenging.

“But attention to detail in some key husbandry areas and a sound understanding of the important feeding principles will help you get it right.”

Consequently, he encouraged farmers to stick with proven calf milk replacer brands, backed by solid scientific research – and to buy British.

“In addition, modern nutritionists clearly have a responsibility to help farmers produce milk and rear their replacement calves more sustainably. But sustainability in agriculture goes hand in hand with efficiency,” he said.

“When it comes to providing the right pre-weaning nutrition in the current climate, we also need to consider the sustainability of our inputs. And the inputs of early life calf production are primarily concerned with the ingredients used in milk formulas.

“Sustainable sourcing of ingredients for milk powder formulations is becoming extremely important and, in this context, manufacturers must consider both the impact of growing the ingredient and the usefulness of that ingredient in meeting the nutrition requirements of the growing calf.

“What you can certainly be sure about is the focus Volac nutritionists constantly have on sourcing the best quality ingredients for its calf milk formulations – and particularly those ingredients that we know will deliver the best balance between animal performance, efficiency and sustainability,” said Mr Watson.