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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.

Research data and practical experience, from New Zealand and around the world, has shown that youngstock rearers have the opportunity to positively influence lifetime productivity of calves, kids and lambs, simply by feeding them well in the first eight weeks of life.

For many years calf rearing systems have focused primarily on developing the rumen of the young calf so that by the time the calf is weaned it is able to effectively utilise pasture and other forages, and in many cases maximising rumen development has been interpreted as minimising the amount of milk consumed by the calf to ensure high intakes of starch-based feed needed to help drive the development of rumen papillae.