increase font size
Lely Calm prepares milk at the right temperature and allows calves to drink little and often throughout the day.
The first weeks of a calf's life quietly shape the future of the entire herd.
Growth rates, health, and early nutrition all have a direct line to lifetime performance. Yet on many farms, calf feeding remains one of the most labour-intensive and inconsistent parts of the system.
That's where Lely says it's Lely Calm automatic feeder is changing the conversation.
At its core, Calm is about consistency, says Lely.
It prepares milk at the right temperature and delivers it ad libitum, allowing calves to drink little and often throughout the day.
This feeding approach supports better nutrient uptake and enourages steady daily weight gain, something that's difficult to achieve with traditional twice-a-day bucket feeding.
Calves can drink according to their natural rhythm, reducing stress and supporting stronger development from the first day.
The company says the system is fully adjustable, givikng farmers the flexibility to tailor feeding strategies to different groups.
Replacement heifers can be fed differently from beef calves, with settings adapted to suit each goal.
Replacement calves can recedive unlimited milk for the first five to six weeks of life, while beef calves can be managed with set daily allowances.
From there, a gradual step-down encourages roughage and concentrate intake, supporting rumen development and setting the foundation for improved vitality, fertility, and milk production later in life.
Hygiene, often a challenge in calf rearing, is another area where Lely says Calm stands out.
The system is designed to clean itself automatically multiple times a day using water and specialised detergents.
For farms wanting an extra ledvel of protection, the optional HygieneBox adds a two-step cleaning process, rinsing the teat after every visit and thoroughly cleaning the internal system.
The result is consistently high milk quality and reduced bacterial build-up, both critical for calf health.
Beyond feeding and hygiene, Calm significantly reduces labour, says Lely.
"The repetitive tasks of mixing milk, filling buckets, and feeding calves manualy are largely eliminated. Farmers can gain back valuable time while still knowing their calves are being fed accurately and consistently. It also introduces calves to automated systems early, as they learn to enter a drinking station, an experienced that can ease the transition to robotic milking later in life."
What truly sets it apart, according to the company, is the integration with the Lely Horizon farm management platform, a digital monitoring and decision-support system working behind the scenes.
Calm captures feeding data every time a calf drinks and converts it into practical, easy-to-use insights for the farmer.
This allows farmers to monitor drinking behaviour, pick up changes early, and track each calf's growth and performance over time.
When combined with the Lely Astronaut automated milking robots, it creates a complete digital record from calf to cow, helping farmers make better, more informed decisions at every stage of life.
In a sector increasingly focused on efficiency and animal wellbeing, Lely Calm offers a practical step forward, helping farmers raise healthier calves today, and more productive cows tomorrow.
www.lely.com
Article supplied by Lely
In calf rearing, the smallest details often have the biggest impact. While feed and genetics remain critical, bedding is increasingly recognised as a key driver of calf health, growth, and overall performance.
For decades, probiotics in calf rearing have been treated as a reactive tool – something to reach for when illness strikes. That thinking, according to Matt Collier of Probiotic Revolution, is leaving significant money on the table.
When a cow goes down after calving, it is easy to blame the calving itself. Milk fever, calving stress, poor weather, bad luck. Yet many down cows are not caused by one dramatic event. They are the end result of poorly transitioned cows entering calving under nutritional pressure.
Dry-off feels like a break. For the cow, it's anything but.
As spring calving cows head into dry-off, the priority shifts to one thing: setting cows up to calve at the target body condition score (BCS).
New Zealand innovation company Techion, best known for its animal diagnostics platform, FECPAK has signed an exclusive strategic partnership with Farmlands to bring independent animal health disease intelligence to its customers.
Troubled milk processor Synlait has lost its third chief executive in five years.
Westgold butter has been named New Zealand's tastiest in a blind tasting conducted by Consumer New Zealand.
A New Zealand agritech and dairy services group has big plans as it expands its dairy services footprint across dairy hygiene, data, and milk cooling with the purchase of nationwide refrigeration business Dairy Technology Services (DTS).
The 2026 Holstein Friesian sales season has already delivered outstanding results across New Zealand and Australia - including a new Australasian record.
OPINION: At a time when farmers are advocating for less government spending and no new taxes, the dairy sector is rightly concerned by ACT's new immigration policy.
OPINION: Reckless action by Greenpeace in 2024 forced Fonterra to shut down a drying plant for four hours, costing the co-op…
OPINION: The global crusade against fossil fuel is gaining momentum in some regions.
