Feed
During the earliest phase of their lives calves at first receive only milk, then later hay and pellets. Later grass and maize follow. From the time a cow bears a calf and starts actually producing milk, the feed ration is geared toward its individual requirement.
Beef farmers usually produce the roughage for their beef cattle themselves, such as maize and fodder maize. In addition, the animals receive concentrated feed. These are pressed grains that consist of high-quality nutrients such as fats and vitamins. Also added are minerals together with moist food industry by-products such as from beer, compressed beet pulp and a variety of potato by-products. These products are supplied by specialist feed suppliers recognised for Good Manufacturing Practice Plus (GMP Plus). The GMP-Plus code is based on ISO-9001 and meets the requirements of the HACCP quality system.Veterinary medicines in feed
Cattle feed contains no antibiotics. The Animal Feeds Framework Act contains requirements the animal feed must satisfy and regulations governing the responsibilities of the government and the business community. The Animal Feeds Framework Act is European legislation, translated into Dutch regulations. The Animal Feeds Framework Act came into effect on 18 October 2004. For more information, please see www.minlnv.nl.