Glen Eden Holsteins base the dairy diet on improved pasture composed of perennial and annual ryegrass for most of the year, with some millet and oats in summer & autumn. The grazing rotation is between 12 and 16 days.

To complement the diet & maximise milk production the cows are fed dairy meal based on wheat, canola meal & lupins in the rotary dairy at a level determined by their daily production (0.2kg dairy meal per 1 litre of milk).A 50 litre cow will get, on average, 10kg of dairy meal per day.Our production team along with their nutrition advisors monitor the milk on a daily basis & are able to adjust the diet to ensure that the butterfat, milk protein & cell count are at the optimum levels & exceed the manufacturer’s specifications.

The dairy meal contains feed additives to maintain the cow’s health, milk components (butterfat 3.8%, milk protein 3.1 – 3.2%, cell count < 250 000) and improve herd fertility (increased by 7% in 18 months).

When the cows leave the dairy they are fed silage and hay based total mixed ration on a covered feed pad before they move to the grazing strip. The cows at Glen Eden Holsteins are a very well-bred closed herd for over 20 years. Our calves are bred & grown out on the farm. We care for our calves in a state of the art calf raising shed which is managed by a full-time staff member; their only role is to ensure the calves are healthy. Our calves receive milk replacer until weaned at 12 weeks of age. They are then fed an 18% protein calf ration which is made on the farm with wheat, some stream rolled barley, lucerne, canola, lupins, vitamins & minerals.