SweetPro Cattle Video Testimonies

"One pound of SweetPro blocks replaced nearly 4 pounds of range cubes with no reduction in performance."

Gordon Christiansen, Durham, KS

A Fresh Start for Stressed Calves, with SweetPro's
Kaf Starter

June 1999 • Gordon Christiansen, a rancher and a farmer from Durham, KS, knows the importance of getting a trailer load of light calves off to the right start. He had been starting calves by feeding them good brome hay and a medicated pellet started popular to the local area. Christiansen decided to try a new strategy - SweetPro Kaf Starter.

The first part of October 1998, Christiansen received 35 head of light weight heifers weighing an average of 330 pounds. He processed the group after the first day and fed them brome hay and Kaf Starter for 10 days after their arrival. After the 10 days, he weighed the calves and took them to grass.

The results from the weigh-up were impressive! The calves had gained an average of 22 lbs. per head. An outstanding 2.2 lbs. per day for the ten day time period. That's not all. There were no deaths and no reprocessing of the cattle. "I was in disbelief," Christiansen said. "I was afraid to tell anybody because I knew they wouldn't believe me."

Seven days later, Christiansen received another 50 head of heifers weighing an average of 335 pounds per head. This was his opportunity to prove that the first gorup was not a fluke. He proceeded to feed them exactly as he had the first group. At the end of ten days, it was time to see the results. Not only did the second gorup perform the same, but had actually out-gained the first group by 0.4 lbs. per day. Again there were no deaths or reprocessing. "

I invited a couple of my neighbors over to look at the second group of calves as we weighed them," said Christiansen. The gain was calculated using the purchase weight. "The neighbors told me there was no reason to shrink the cattle." He continued, "What we saw was framy Ôlegit' gain, not gut fill from those ten days."

Christiansen also noted that he had cut his feed cost in half by using the Kaf Starter block. The medicated starter product he was using previously cost 30 cents a day compared to about 15 cents a head per day with the block. He also saved on medication and labor from not reprocessing. Most importantly, he had not lost any calves! "The calves started on Kaf Starter began eating right off the truck. They were licking the tubs, eating and drinking immediately. Also, we didn't have the problem of some calves coming to the bunk to eat starter pellets while others stayed back. The tubs are available all day and not just once or twice a day at feeding time."

When asked if the SweetPro Kaf Starter met his expectations, Christiansen confidently responded, "We were extremely pleased with the gain, performance and cost of gain using the Kaf Starter, but this was just a bonus as far as we were concerned. Getting the calves started eating right away and getting the necessary nutrients to get the immune system up and running was our primary goal."

Gordon Christiansen is available at (316) 732-3320.

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• Faster Pasture Gains with Tubs - Mar.1997
• Golden Glover - Not Your average Cow Puncher - Dec.1997
• Fresh Start for Stress Calves, with Sweet Pro Kaf Starter - June1999
• Straight From The Horse's Mouth! - Jan. 2000
• Heifer Breed-back Improves Sharply With SweetPro Tub - June 2000
• Stressed Calves Never Look Back, with SweetPro¨ Kaf Starter. - Jan./Feb.2001
• Weaning Bigger, Healthier Calves After Year 'round Supplementing with SweetPro¨ Lick Blocks - Sept./Oct.2001
• Breedback and weaning at the 7P - March 2004
• Stalwart Ranch - September 2004
• Dairy Cows recover from DA - March 2005
• A.J. Starr's Story - July 2005
• Milk Production came up and stayed up - August 2005
• Dairy Calves recover and mature faster on Fresh Start - May 2006
• Double O Charolais - June 2006