Helping heifers grow into ideal cows

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