As the saying goes there are many ways to skin a cat. Well the same can be said for rearing calves. The ultimate objective is to calve your replacement heifers at 24 months of age, on target weight, at least cost and at least effort and stress to the farmer. There is a big range in the costs of rearing replacements on dairy farms. Some farmers have invested thousands in specialised calf sheds and feeding systems. Others consistently have issues with disease outbreaks which adds considerable cost, both in terms of veterinary, but also losses when it comes to weight gain and mortality. All of which adds cost and hassle. In these pages we see farmers who operate low-cost and simple calf rearing successfully.

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