Homelands Farming, at Methven, run by Andrew Fitzgerald and Rebecca Langley, produces calves for the dairy industry.
Their recently commissioned calf-rearing shed is designed for best animal welfare, a good working environment and quiet, easy stock handling. The building can hold 512 calves and is clean, warm and well ventilated.
As part of the rearing process, colostrum delivers vital protective antibodies and is a source of protein. The colostrum fed calves quickly hit target weaning weights and show well developed rumens. The aim is to give each calf a good start to becoming a dairy cow with a long, productive career.
The couple visited a number of rearing units and decided an LGP gas heating system would best produce warm milk for the calves, cheaper and faster than an electric system.
They ordered a system from Longveld, in Waikato, established makers of dairy hot water systems. The design integrated a standard hot water system with a spiral tube-in-tube heat exchanger with capacity to heat enough milk for 350 calves to 30 deg C in about 30 minutes.
An in-built timer controls automatic milk heating ready for scheduled feeding times, and the system delivers milk to a ‘cart’ at any time during the heating cycle. The system supplies plenty of water at 45 deg C for equipment cleaning, and a hands-free supply of 80 deg C water for hand washing.
Fitzgerald says the system “has given us the confidence to gently heat large volumes of milk to a constant temperature in a short time, which results in healthy young calves”.
“The capital outlay and running costs compared well with electric solutions, and cleaning and maintenance are a breeze.”
www.longveld.co.nz
