Benefits of dedicated calf rearer for split block-calver
© George Tomlinson Feeding calves is not a low-ranking job at Lower Park Farm. Instead, an employee dedicated to calf rearing is considered the key to consistency in feeding, weighing and following protocols for organic dairy farmer George Tomlinson.
George likes having the same person working with calves – and he wants the job done properly. He particularly does not want to see pneumonia on the farm.
“Calves that have had pneumonia are never the same and [as cows] don’t produce, and they end up out of the block,” he says.
See also: Five ways to achieve zero treatments and losses in calves
Farming in partnership with his parents, Richard and Sadie, and brother Will, George runs a 600-cow split block-calving herd at Rossett, near Wrexham.
Until this year, the herd operated a replacement rate of 30%. Now, the plan is to have 500-520 cows and make space to rear the farm’s dairy beef calves to finish off grass.
From each block, the family will keep 80 to 100 heifers as replacements, plus 80 to 100 Angus-cross calves. Surplus calves will be sold at three weeks of age.
Calf job title
Labour on the dairy enterprise is supplied by four full-time people (including George), plus two relief milkers.
George created a full-time job, giving it the title “heifers and youngstock”, so that it became a dedicated main role with additional milking duties.
Current calf rearer Lucy Stephens works a 10-hour day, seven of which are spent with calves; the rest of her time is spent milking, sometimes scraping or bedding the cows.
Lucy is on a rota of 11 days on, two off.
Lucy Stephens © George Tomlinson
“Always having the same person increases consistency. We operate protocols and we measure to ensure we hit targets, and I don’t leave people in charge unless they have a good track record.
“I work with them and train them till they are confident in tasks and never throw them in at the deep end,” says George.
He explains that Lucy has been working at Lower Park since she was 16 and was employed full-time this summer after university.
Over the years, George has trained and supervised her in techniques such as tube feeding colostrum, tagging and navel dipping.
All these tasks are written down in a protocol; by following this, it puts Lucy in charge of all stock tasks and detecting and treating sick calves.
George refreshes the protocol and makes any necessary changes before every calving.
Written protocol
“It’s all written down because people forget things – I forget things, so I can’t expect staff to remember it all, and any changes.
“Lucy is also in charge of bedding, weighing feed, and a thorough check of calves on Wednesdays, when we make them stand up, take their temperatures and check for disease,” he says.
George adds that while Lucy gets help to collect calves, she has responsibility for testing all colostrum produced on-farm “and feeding over 25% on the Brix refractometer, freezing colostrum at the end of a block to have on hand for the next one”.
He is keen to get staff off the farm for training and to visit other farms to see best practice.
“It reinforces our protocols, because they realise it’s not just me telling them.
“They get a good idea of what is done well and not so well on our farm. Heifers are the future on our dairy herd, so we don’t want to waste them.”
This year’s 112 autumn-born calves were Lucy’s first to rear as a full-time employee.
George reports no deaths, two calves with pneumonia and only one or two cases of scours – and he appreciates her thorough cleaning, good eye for detail and commitment to get a job done properly.
However, he plans to recruit an additional person to work with Lucy to speed up some of the jobs.
A team of two will also help communication, maintain consistency and provide relief cover, he says.
George is planning to buy some good scales to fine-tune weighing to maintain growth rates at grass and to weigh the beef cattle.
Lower Park Farm, Rossett
- Organic
- 600 crossbreds split-block calving
- Average yield 6,000 litres depending on grass growth
- 239ha grassland
- 134ha arable including peas/oats/barley combi-crop fed as a concentrate
- 40ha wholecrop rye
- 170ha milking platform
Specialist calf-rearing opportunities
There is an opening for new entrants who possess patience, reliability and an affinity for youngstock: the job of calf rearer. It is a role that also requires an aptitude for detail and consistency.
Time pressures and a focus on milk production often result in calf rearing becoming a job that is done last, says LIC consultant Sean Chubb.
Even when a farm owner decides to do it themselves for consistency, things get rushed.
“Feeding or bedding not done properly leads to more bugs and health issues. But when you have one person in charge of calf rearing, it is their main job and so it is all done first,” he says.
Dedication pays
“A good calf rearer is worth their weight in gold. Year on year, you can see it in growth rates and performance because that early rearing period is crucial for both welfare and performance.
“It sets the calf up [for life] and takes the pressure off staff, who need to be doing other jobs such as milking and calving,” Sean adds.
All-year-round calving herds may find it easier to absorb calf rearing within the daily routine as there is a small, steady flow of calves, says Sean.
They can justify the cost of automating milk feeding for consistency, so employing a dedicated person would depend on scale.
In a block-calving herd, however, there is a growing trend for farm owners to seek novel ways to fill the short-term calf-rearing role.
With a large volume of calves to be looked after in just 12 weeks, peak workload requires maximum labour units, yet once calves are weaned and grazing, there can be limited (or no) work.
Sean knows block-calving farmers who use agricultural or veterinary students, while others employ people from outside agriculture.
Some, for instance, have had success from advertising fliers in local day-care centres, hiring mums who are not yet returning to full-time work.
This is where a new entrant could set themselves up as a calf contractor, offering flexibility and short-term seasonal contracts.
Reliability
Whatever option, a strong work ethic is important in a calf rearer because the business needs to rely on someone to feed calves, he says.
“What’s becoming apparent is a willingness to turn up for work every day.
“Also the attention to detail needed, in that milk replacer needs to be fed at the same formula and temperature every day.
“And patience is crucial in a calf rearer to get calves started drinking.”
Sean says that protocols for consistency help, but thorough training is essential and must be more than a couple of chats and supervised feeding of the first two calves.
Once calving is in full swing, there can suddenly be 20-30 calves to feed and that guidance is lost.
“In large herds it can be a baptism of fire if someone has never done calf rearing before,” he points out.