Unlock the full potential of your calves | Ep. 126

Unlock the full potential of your calves | Ep. 126

From Talking Dairy by DairyNZ

May 26, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the importance of early calf nutrition and features insights from farmer Cam Henderson on ad-lib feeding practices.

Are you feeding your calves enough to unlock their full potential? In this episode, you’ll hear what the latest research says about early calf nutrition, and why feeding more milk before weaning can help your heifers hit growth targets sooner and produce more milk later. You’ll also hear from Canterbury farmer Cam Henderson, who’s made the shift to ad-lib feeding. He shares what’s changed, what surprised him, and how the costs stacked up. But this isn’t just about ad-lib systems. ...

People in this episode

Guest: Cam Henderson

Topics covered

  • calf nutrition
  • early feeding
  • growth targets
  • ad-lib feeding
  • dairy farming

Keywords

  • calves
  • nutrition
  • milk feeding
  • heifers
  • dairy farming
  • growth
  • Canterbury

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DairyNZ

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