Nutrition in the pre-weaning period profoundly affects calf health, development, and lifetime welfare outcomes. Enhanced nutrition programmes producing accelerated growth improve welfare alongside production.
Traditional restricted milk feeding leaves calves in a state of chronic hunger throughout the milk period, causing stereotypic behaviour and reduced immune development. Enhanced nutrition programmes that allow calves to express their full growth potential also eliminate this hunger-driven welfare problem. The welfare and production benefits of enhanced pre-weaning nutrition are well-established and justify the modest additional cost.