He says a 40-kilogram bag of milkpowder feeds four calves for about a month, and he thinks prices this year are on a par with last year. He takes them through to weaning at eight to 10 weeks or until they're 18 months old, when he sells them for finishing. Lepperton's John Eichstaedt has been rearing about 20 calves a year for the past 15 years or so. On Monday, white-faced hereford calves offered at PGG Wrightson's Inglewood sale fetched up to $255, with friesians getting around $140. This year rearers are faced with slightly higher calf prices and an increase in milk powder and meal costs. The purchase price of the calf, milk powder and calf meal costs all need to be balanced against the likely price when the calf is on- sold, usually at 100 kilograms, to a buyer who will farm it through to slaughter.

Successfully rearing calves for profit is all about doing your sums reports The Taranaki Daily. Is the potential of the progeny of 4 million dairy cows being exploited by the beef sector, and if not, why not? Share your experiences with us on dairy beef contracts. The ideas of this scheme had good logic but it failed to carry on. I was involved as a finisher in such a scheme and was impressed by the quality animals produced but not impressed on hearing the costs and stories of animals transported from one end of the island to another.

Raising dairy bull calves for profit