Helping heifers grow into ideal cows

Groot Brakrivier dairy farmer Candice de Jongh and her husband Coenraad have finetuned their formula for raising the ideal milk cow. A central component is ensuring that both heifers and dry cows are in optimal condition all year round. Robyn Powell reports.

- Robyn Powell

FAST FACTS

Candice and Coenraad de Jongh produce 4,5 million litres of milk a year, with 4,8% butterfat and 3,7% protein, from their in-milk herd of 650 Jersey cows.

Heifers are inseminated for the first time at 13 to 14 months, and the heifers in the herd have a conception rate of 67%.

The De Jonghs aim for an optimal heifer growth rate, and use economical sources of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals, with a particular emphasis on providing good quality protein.

Raising a good milk cow begins before she is even born. It starts with breeding for the best traits, keeping dry cows and heifers in optimal condition all-year round, and adhering to consistent vaccination and hygiene protocols. This is according to Western Cape dairy farmer Candice de Jongh, who, with her husband Coenraad, were the runners-up in the 2020 Milk Producers’ Organisation/Nedbank Stewardship Awards.

“If we want a cow to perform optimally, we have to look after her. We have to build into her, even before she’s born, the capacity to become the best milk cow she can be,” says De Jongh, who farms alongside Coenraad on their 270ha farm Blomfontein near Groot Brakrivier, Western Cape.

The couple rented a mixed farm near Langebaan on the West Coast before buying Blomfontein in 2003. They have since expanded their Jersey herd to 650 cows in milk, and produce 4,5 million litres a year. Their milk has 4,8% butterfat and 3,7% protein. “Our cows are bred using the best genetics, and we only breed with animals that further our breeding goals and add value for us. We look for cows with longevity and an ability to walk far, who will give us a calf every year, and who will add milk solids and milk,” she says.