How Jesse and Renee introduced DanMix® Springer Cow Balancer into their system for a smoother calving season
Mairoa Dairies, based in Central Plateau run by Jesse and Renee Huffam, is a self-contained dairy operation milking 2000 spring calving cows on a 1,760ha dairy platform. With extreme weather variables – from damp cold winters to extremely dry summers means there are multiple challenges to face. Winter crop (predominantly swedes) plays a key part in their feeding programme. In 2025 Jesse and Renee were tired of treating over 15% of their herd for milk fever, but they needed something practical for their large-scale system. They decided to introduce DanMix® Springer Cow Balancer – a self-help loose lick that maintains a balanced mineral profile for the pre-calving period. The idea was to get the mineral balance right in the springer period, to help their cows maintain their own calcium balance through calving, without the need for a bag of metabolics. And it worked.
Nutritech DanMix® Loose Lick Product
This discussion started when Renee and Jesse stopped in at the Nutritech site at National Feildays where they discussed the opportunity to help reduce their clinical metabolic cases. Having a large operation with multiple staff, their key goal on the farm was to keep all systems as simple as possible and not wanting to overcomplicate everyday tasks. Their transition programme consisted of pasture, swedes and grass silage, with the springer mobs staying in their designated paddocks, not returning to the shed, making it hard to feed extra supplements. This meant DanMix® Springer was the way to go, fed by placing it in PKE trailers in the paddocks for the cows to self-access. Renee mentioned that the ease of use for her staff was amazing “they even started putting barrels in the raceway so the cows could have a lick as they were walking”.
With no access to a feed pad or the ability to feed out to large mobs in the paddock, DanMix® Springer Cow Balancer fits right into their system, feeding it for an average of 18 days pre calving. They were able to give it to multiple mobs at a time, filling the drums up once a day and sometimes even every couple of days, while also eliminating the job of dusting mag oxide, saving even more time.
Mairoa Dairies have shown that a smooth transition period doesn’t have to be complicated and can be managed well even in systems with minimal feed out options. Going from a history of 15% milk fever cases and then reducing this down to only 2% saved them a lot of time and stress. It’s a regime they will be continuing to use moving into the next calving and won’t be going without for seasons to come.
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