Whey Protein Concentrate VS Non-fat Dried Milk, what’s in your milk replacer?
One question that might come to mind when looking at milk replacer tags is, what is the difference between all the different dairy proteins? Take whey protein concentrate (WPC) and non-fat dried milk or skim milk (NFDM) for example, both are dairy proteins but not always listed in the same order and NFDM is not listed on every tag.
We have definitely had this question in the past! It is important to note all milk replacer has some form of whey protein, even if NFDM is in the formulation!
We have fed milk replacer with both, more WPC and more NFDM, and they all work well in your general calf raising setting. The main concerns when it comes to any of these formulations are consistency and quality. While consistency can be tracked, to some degree, by comparing tags on every bag, quality is not something that you can discern from a feed tag. That’s why it’s important to find a company that you trust to consistently deliver high quality products to support your calves!
Assuming that all of the WPC and NFDM are created equal in the scenario we are going to go through, we are going to discuss the main differences between the two and why you might decide to go with one or the other.
The first difference, today, is the price. WPC is quite a bit more expensive than NFDM right now, about $5/bag. This is strictly due to market price. They fluctuate often! When milk prices go up, milk replacer prices go up, when milk comes down, like it’s been doing for the last 6 months, milk replacer will follow suit.
The second difference is how each ingredient is digested in the calf. WPC is a “quicker” digestion. It flows directly to the small intestine of the calf where all the nutrients are absorbed. NFDM is a little different. NFDM has to undergo coagulation before it can be digested. Similar to the process of making cheese, when the NFDM goes into the abomasum (calf stomach), her body sends out rennet to form a clot.
Once the clot is formed, it can start digesting a little bit at a time. Essentially, NFDM is metered to the calf for a longer period of time, and WPC is digested right away.
NFDM formulations will only form a clot in the abomasum if the proper amount of NFDM is included. If the inclusion rate is too low, a loose clot will form and not properly digest and release nutrients. Just as we notice a curdling in cow’s milk when the milk is not the right temperature or the quality of the milk is poor, the same goes for milk replacer formulations. It is vital to ensure if you are using NFDM in your formulations it’s at the proper percentage to form a full clot!
Both WPC and NFDM formulations have equal performance in the calf. Since the method of digestion is different it is extremely important to pick a formulation and stick with it. Once the young calf has learned a certain way of digestion, it is a stressor if the formulation changes and the calf then has to learn a new way of digesting its feed.
In the first 2 weeks of life, her body is already in overdrive because of her immune system. It likely can’t take much more, and asking her digestive system to do extra work might cause her to struggle further. Take, for example, a calf that has been consuming an all-whey protein formulation and is suddenly switched to a formulation with NFDM at 10 days of age. If that calf has been struggling with a pre-existing disease like clostridium, that pathogen will feed off the undigested proteins in the abomasum until the calf properly learns how to digest that NFDM.
While some farms might find that they like one better than the other, we like a formulation with NFDM!
If you are wondering if your milk replacer has the right combination of NFDM and WPC for your calves, send us a message and we would love to go through your feed tags with you!
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