Shine Original, still the best on Welsh farms
Eileen Jamison and Tom Warren on Penberry Farm, Pembrokeshire, where their dairy herd has been thriving on Shine Original as part of their calf rearing system for over 12 years.
It was 2012 when a Pembrokeshire dairy farm first used Shine Original in its calf rearing system and 12 years on some of those animals are still in the milking herd.
Sean and Eileen Jamieson and their son, Stuart, produce milk from a herd of 540 spring calving British Friesian crosses at Penberry Farm, St Davids.
To produce resilient and sustainable dairy cows, they feed Shine Original to promote the calf’s immune system, helping to eliminate health issues before, during and after weaning.
Every calf receives three litres of colostrum as soon as possible after birth and a second feed of three litres.
Bonanza Calf Nutrition’s transition calf milk replacer, Transformula, is then fed until calves are 10 days old to help develop their digestive system.
This is followed by Shine Original, formerly known as Since Once-a-Day, fed twice a day until calves are four weeks old after which a once a day feeding programme is introduced.
This calf milk replacer (CMR) is made with low heat treated skim and buttermilk.
Mollie Phipps, of Bonanza Calf Nutrition, which manufactures Shine Original and supports the Jamiesons with their calf feeding programme, says the “secret’’ of Original is in the contents of the bag, not on the label.
This is because it is made with combination of Low heat treated milk ingredients that help calves get maximum levels of utilisable amino acids.
“Original promotes the development of the digestive system by increasing dry feed intake and total dry matter (DM) intake,’’ says Mollie.
This has a positive effect on the calf’s immune system, allowing calves to be weaned with good rumen and digestive tract development.
It means that the calves at Penberry Farm have virtually no health issues before, during and after weaning.
Eileen says it is one of the reasons why cows in the herd perform — and last.
Her calves are weaned when they are eating at least 1.25-1.5kg/head/day of starter feed, when they are approximately eight weeks old, by which time they have doubled their birthweight.
They are then turned out to grass to achieve the growth targets needed to calve at two years old.
Calves are the next generation and that’s why there is so much attention to detail given at the rearing stage, says Eileen.
“I often say it’s the hardest job on the farm,’’ she says.
“When you are breeding your replacements you have got to get it right because those are your future herd, if you cock the rearing up you’ve had it.’’
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