LifeStart feeding programme for sustainable and profitable future production

Increasing the pre-weaning growth levels of your Holstein dairy calves will result in higher lifetime milk production – and LifeStart can help. This theory is the basis of our Kempenshof LifeStart research programme, which, in 2014, started to follow two groups of Holstein dairy calves during their entire productive life. The research trial, which continues today, compares a LifeStart feeding schedule with a restricted feeding schedule. So far, results have shown that LifeStart’s calf feeding schedule increases milk production and lowers the culling rate during the first and second lactation. This is likely to lead to a higher lifetime production and an increase in lifetime average daily milk production by the end of the trial. Ultimately, a LifeStart calf rearing programme is also being proven to reduce the footprint per kg of milk produced, resulting in more sustainable dairy farming.