Helen Molloy – Sheep & Beef Farmer, rearing 200 dairy bull calves, North Canterbury
Fantastic support and a quality milk replacer are seeing Helen Molloy achieve great results in her calf-rearing operation. Achieving weight gains of one kilo a day from eight weeks of age was a key measure of her success.
A sheep and beef farmer in North Canterbury, Helen rears approximately 200 dairy bull beef calves to 100kg.
A couple of years ago, she had a tough rearing season.
“The calves lacked shine on their coats, they looked undernourished, they had no ‘spark’” she explained. “We hadn’t changed our feeding routine – the calves had everything they needed.
“So, I put it down to the milk replacer we were using. It was hard to mix, taking 30 per cent longer than what I consider to be usual. We also found a black residue at the bottom of the mixing container, which was suspect. Ultimately, the product was clearly not providing nutritional value to the calves.”
Helen resorted to social media to find out if others were having a similar experience. This led to a conversation where she learned that milk replacers can vary in quality, composition, and digestibility – even between bags of the same product – due to manufacturing processes. She noted, too, how greatly ingredients could influence the digestibility of a product.
“This conversation really opened my eyes to the lack of quality measures in place in New Zealand,” said Helen. “And how important it was to understand the research behind a product, the manufacturing process, as well as the ingredients contained. All this has a strong influence on nutritional quality as well as digestibility.”
At that time, Helen also met rearing specialist Cheryl Farrar, whom she quickly came to regard as a trusted advisor.
“Cheryl is so passionate about rearing good animals,” said Helen. “She came onto our farm, assessed everything we were doing, made some practical suggestions, and the positive change from one season to the next was immediately obvious. She’s someone we consider our ‘go to’ for rearing advice.”
In 2024, Cheryl joined Provico Rural, a company with a strong reputation for quality and research in the Australian milk replacer market. She saw Profelac Beef as the ideal fit for Helen’s operation.
“Highly digestible fat and protein, Profelac Beef casein-based milk replacer is a cost-effective and easy alternative to whole milk,” said Cheryl. “It’s formulated to promote calf growth and muscle development. It also provides flexibility, working well in a once-a-day system like Helen’s, as well as in both twice-a-day and ad lib systems.”
So, in 2024, Helen reared her animals on Profelac Beef, feeding them 5L once-a-day, and weaning at 85kg.
“I liked that Profelac Beef is specifically designed for a beef system, and completely trusted Cheryl’s recommendation. Also, it smells like Vanilla, it’s clean, and it’s easy to mix.”
Caption: Easy to mix with little, to no residue after feeding
From Helen’s perspective, her calves have gone from strength to strength since she began working with Cheryl. This season was no exception.
“Our Profelac Beef calves have thrived. Development was quick, we could see some ruminating at debudding time, which was at three and a half weeks old. Our vet was surprised at this, so much so that they now recommend the product to other farmers.”
She added that the calves are playful (the ‘spark’ is back!) and visibly healthy, with soft and shiny coats.
Caption: Health, happy calves, reared on ProfeLAC Beef CMR
“Profelac Beef is great quality, easy to use, and the calves loved it. Those are my top reasons for recommending this milk replacer,” said Helen. “That, and the hands-on support we have from the Provico Rural team.”