Dairy Pellets Deliver Drought-Defying Results
After a half-century farming in the north-eastern NSW district of Tamworth, Frank Klasen has faced down a drought that had him fearing for the multigenerational future of his farm.
Having moved from Muswellbrook 50 years ago to run a large, mixed farming operation of dairy cattle and poultry on the family property Klasen Farms, Mr Klasen has told The Cultivator how he sustained his dairy operations during the extended drought conditions.
With recent rains bringing some relief from “the toughest time on the farm since starting the dairy 50 years ago,” Mr Klasen said the family-of-five had cut herd sizes and made other sacrifices to survive.
Running their dairy round-the-clock was once a fully automated system, with cattle rotated through the dairy with electronic collars to coordinate milking.
Since the drought, the Klasens have reverted to more manual practices on-farm to save money and resources.
Dairy cows are housed in a loafing barn filled with a bed of silage, to ensure the health and wellbeing of each animal, and two casual staff help maintain the dairy and poultry operation at all times.
To sustain weight gain and milk production for 200 head of dairy cattle, the Klasens had been bringing in loads of hay from across Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia – and providing each cow a daily ration of 10.5kg of Manildra Stockfeed DDG-S Wheat Pellets for Dairy Cows and Manildra Mill Mix.
As a long-term customer of Manildra Group, Mr Klasen said he had experienced excellent results from our DDG-S Wheat Pellets for Dairy Cattle in terms of weight gain and milk yield, with cows yielding an average of 4760L per day between them.
And for calving year-round, Mr Klasen noted the importance of highly nutritious feed for both the mother and calf to support rumen stability, milk fat production and general animal health.
After using the DDG-S pellets for more than two years, Mr Klasen said he was most impressed with the highly nutritious formula.
Formulated from Manildra Group’s unique dried distillers’ grain and syrups (DDG-S), with the addition of super-soluble wheat proteins to maximise milk production and enhance calf growth and wellbeing, the DDG-S Wheat Pellets for Dairy Cows are extremely palatable with a rich, fermented odour.
“The team at Manildra Group – in particular Ron Arnold – have looked after us very well and always ensure consistently high-quality products are delivered on time,” Mr Klasen said.
Manildra Group Stockfeed Division Chief Operating Executive, Tim Wirth, said the Klasens had demonstrated the strength of family-run enterprises with their determination – particularly in times of hardship.
“As a family-owned business, strong relationships with Australian farming families are very important to all of us at Manildra Group,” said Mr Wirth.
For details on the full range of Manildra Stockfeed products, contact our specialist sales team on 02 4423 8300 or stockfeed@manildra.com.au
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