HOW TO EVALUATE MILK REPLACER QUALITY
When considering milk replacer options on the market, there is no shortage. However, what information do you need to be able to confidently make the right decision on which one to pick for your calves? This includes the nutrients the milk replacer provides, the ingredients, and the cost. Some of this information is on the milk replacer tag . A basic milk replacer tag would typically have something like 24/20 or 28/15 in the title. This is the protein and fat content, with other guaranteed analyses also on the tag. Other useful things to look at on the tag are the ingredients, and it’s important to pay attention to the order in which they appear. Ingredients are typically listed from largest inclusion to smallest. Protein sources are often the highest inclusion; skim milk or non-fat dried milk would be preferred because of the higher levels of casein compared to more whey-based proteins. Some alternative proteins can be incorporated if formulated appropriately.
The tag on a bag of milk replacer should be the starting point. However, the tag might not tell you everything you need to know about how successful that milk replacer will be for your calf program. Other questions include the quality of the ingredients, the mixability and solubility and how the calf does with the milk replacer. Do the calves drink it, grow, and remain healthy?
Milk replacers are formulated based on the commodity market. You pay for what you get. Cheaper milk replacers often use lower quality ingredients. Unfortunately, interest from the human protein market (i.e. high protein everything) is influencing the price and availability many of the milk proteins used in milk replacers.
Once incorporated into a milk replacer, protein quality isn’t easily evaluated. However, milk protein sources can be scored based on the scorched particle standards for dry milks, which indicates severity of Maillard reaction and denaturing of amino acids. Milk replacers should be cream-colored. Milk replacers that are orange or orange-brown indicate excessive heating and are of poorer quality.
Other things that can be tested include mixing the powder as directed in a clear jar. Does the powder sit on top of the water, or does it start to go into solution, which is preferable and indicates better solubility. Once mixed, you can also assess the smell and color. The dry powder should have a bland to pleasant odor. Does it mix well into solution? Does anything fall out of solution or fall to the bottom? There should be no lumps or foreign material.
When evaluating a milk replacer, calculate not only cost of feed (milk replacer) per day but the cost per unit of gain. You might find a higher upfront milk replacer cost will result in a better cost per unit of gain because the calves are healthy and grow better on the higher quality (and more expensive) milk replacer.
Overall, there are likely several factors that come into play when deciding to use a certain milk replacer. Some may be more intuitive and available compared to others, but there’s no question that the calves will let you know what works and what does not.
— Sarah Morrison
