Derrick Frawley, who milks 180 Holstein Friesians on 210 acres at the family’s mid-county holding in Croagh, began using AAA Golden Maverick on the recommendation of Sharon O’Donoghue, South West Business Manager, Volac Milk Replacers Ireland Ltd.

“Sharon’s professionalism has proven as reliable as AAA Golden Maverick,” stated Derrick, who has been farming for the past 30 years. “It’s a quality product; it represents great value for money and our calves thrive on it – using it has been a completely positive experience.”

Employing an evenly split calving model every autumn and spring is something that’s working well for Derrick, who milks his herd in a GEA rapid exit parlour.

“My wife Katrina (a teacher) along with our four children - Harry, Ben, Sadie and Mollie – offer fantastic support to me on the farm day in, day out,” said Derrick.

“My parents Patrick and Breda, who ran the farm before I did, are also a huge help to me on a daily basis,” he said. “My mother rears the calves while my father looks after both the paper work and the fertiliser end of the operation. I’ve also got a relief milker whom I call upon when required and that back-up helps everything to run smoothly."

Typically, Derrick’s calves go through two bags of AAA Golden Maverick every two days. Calves are introduced to the feeder once they’re a week old and are introduced to a calf ration after 10 days. The calf shed is washed out on a daily basis, while the calves’ pens are bedded with fresh straw. Natural ventilation is also provided through the (weather-dependent) opening and closure of doors.

With a firm focus on high yielding animals, breeding at the Frawley farm runs from August to April. All calves – and replacements – are reared on farm with heifers calving down between the ages of 24 and 30 months – depending on their size.

Available in 20kg bags, AAA Golden Maverick represents the complete milk replacer for calves.

AAA Golden Maverick can drive up to 750g of daily weight gain and provides 23% protein and 20% fat, the product’s levels of immunoglobulins and lactoferrin play vital roles in developing the calf’s immune system and gut development.

Derrick mixes AAA Golden Maverick at a concentration of 12.5% which is then fed to the calves through an Urban Alma Pro automatic feeder (which can feed two calves at a time), which is regularly recalibrated by Sharon O’Donoghue. This requires mixing 125g of AAA Golden Maverick milk replacer powder with 875ml of water to provide the calves with one litre of mixed milk.

Water used to mix milk replacer should be below 45°C to avoid damaging those proteins which are essential to calf performance. Indeed, such milk should be kept at a consistent temperature between 37°C and 39°C. This ensures a good oesophageal groove closure which channels milk into the abomasum (the ruminant digestive system).

Derrick continued: “We rear all our heifers and bulls, with the bulls sold for breeding. We’ve a really good market for them as the herd is a fully registered pedigree. We also sell our excess heifers.”

On a farm which has expanded over the past 40-plus years (with another 180 acres rented), average annual production currently stands at 10,200 litres of milk along with 729 kilogrammes of milk solids per cow. “Maintaining quality is at the heart of everything we do,” said Derrick.

Fresh water and concentrated feed are made available to the animals at all times, while hay is also offered to younger calves for rumen development.

“AAA Golden Maverick is a great product,” said Derrick. “It’s very consistent in terms of mixing rates and feeding times and the proof of that is in the calves’ growth and weight rates. The calves are thriving on it, which is all we can ask for.”

For further information, visit feedforgrowth.com