Product Details:
Optivia – Milk Replacer is a partially acidified milk replacer that has many benefits to young growing dairy calves. The first advantage this milk replacer product has is the partially acidified quality’s (Nutreco). The added acid in the milk replacer lowers the pH of the mixed replacer to a pH around 5.2-5.6 (Tarr). The lower pH allows the milk replacer to be left for one to two days longer than conventional milk replacers, as well as, whole milk, because the pH level of the replacer does not promote high bacteria growth when the product is not being refrigerated (Tarr). This is useful when calves are drinking from pails or buckets that hold the liquid milk replacer because the calves will be able to access milk all day long without causing harm. The lower pH of the partially acidified replacer not only creates an environment that prohibits bacterial growth, but also destroys many bacteria that could later cause digestive problems in a dairy calf. This allows for the development of a healthier calf that will be less likely to need medical attention or care, thereby maximizing the efficiency of the product (Source 1). Another benefit to this replacer is its acidic taste that prevents the calf from drinking too much milk per feeding, and in turn, causes the calf to feed more often. Frequent, small feedings allow the calf to obtain more nutrients throughout the day and develops a healthier calf.
Other nutrients offered in this replacer are the added amino acid which will increase the average daily weight gain of the calf, and also improves feed performance by up to 15% (Nutreco). Following the appropriate feeding program for Shur Gain’s Optivia milk replacer, shown in figure one, will optimize a calf’s growth as compared to traditional milk replacers or the whole milk of the calf’s mother.
Manufacturer Details – Find Out Where Optivia is Produced:
Optivia is produced and distributed under the name brand of Shur Gain, a division of the global company, Nutreco. Nutreco’s world-wide office is based in the Netherlands, with their Canadian head office in Guelph, Ontario (Nutreco, 2015). Nutreco Canada employs over 1200 people in Canada and the United States and specializes in research and product development to produce and deliver quality feed products that yield maximum animal performance (Nutreco, 2015).
Machinery Required to Deliver the Optivia Product - Cost:
The Optivia product is very simple and easy to use. The equipment needed to mix the replacer accurately and efficiently would be a scale, a measuring cup, a bucket to mix it in, a stir stick, a thermometer and hot water (Costello, 2014). Most farmers are already equipped with a bucket and some type of an object to mix the initial powder and water mixture and agitate it throughout the day, so this could be eliminated from the list of equipment needs. The scale and thermometer could also be eliminated from the list of required materials. The reason being is that with some simple hands on learning from a professional farmer, the weights and temperatures of the mixture can be determined through experience and without the use of these instruments (D. Berg , personal communication, November 16, 2016 ). This technique for mixing the replacer is typically taught through the generations down the line. Although Nepal is a poor country, an assumption would be made that they would have the main required tools of a bucket, stirring object and some method to heat water, thus there is no need to factor these into the cost of the product. Overall Optivia does not require any materials that would add to the cost of the product, and is very simple to prepare.
Labour and Cost of the Optivia Product:
The manual labour involved in the making of this product on site is very limited and will not add extra stress or time to the farmer when being prepared, delivered and managed. Mixing the product would only take about five minutes, with additional time for agitating the mixture throughout the day (D. Matheson, personal communication, November 16, 2016). Overall the product will not require any physical demanding labour or be time consuming for the farmer.
The majority of the costs for the use of Optivia are for the cost of the product milk replacer itself. The retail price of one twenty-five kilogram bag of Optivia milk replacer is around sixty-four dollars in Canadian currency, priced from Yantzi’s Feed and Seed Limited in Tavistock, Ontario. (Yantzi’s Feed & Seed Ltd, personal communication, October 13, 2016). This equals about 5200 Nepalese Rupees (Bank of Canada). Compared to other milk replacers on the market, Optivia is marginally more expensive than its market comparators. The value of the Optivia milk replacer is superior to other products as it offers more nutritional value with each feed and it has a knowledgeable staff who stand behind their product.
Target Market:
This product fits into a very niche market in Nepal, as well as, in other countries in the rest of the world. The niche market is that of the dairy cattle industry. Selling this product to a subsistence farmer in Nepal would just not be feasible due to the cost. It is better to target the use of the Optivia product by the larger operations for dairy cattle that produce milk to be sold for consumption. Another option for this product would be for use by a village, who could come together to purchase the product to feed the calves, leaving more milk for consumption by the village people and potentially selling any surplus whole milk to consumers outside of the village (Explained in Part Two: Marketing Strategy).
Before reaching the farmers hands the Optivia product would have to be sold in a farm supply store in Nepal. Nepal has thirty-six district Milk Producers’ Cooperative Unions whom have resources, funds, knowledge and plans to expand the dairy industry in Nepal (FAO, 2010). The larger institutions like these could potentially support the larger scale farmers by helping to manage the cost of the product, and possibly even purchase the milk replacer for smaller villages or villagers to help them begin to expand their dairy operations.
Benefits to Canada:
Exporting Optivia to the Nepalese farmers will benefit Canada by expanding the distribution of the product, which will create more jobs in order to match the demand for an increase in production. To further the benefit to Canadians, the product could be handled through smaller feed stores, such as Yanzti’s Feed and Seed Limited. Based in Tavistock Ontario (Yantzi’s Feed & Seed Ltd.) Yantzi’s Feed and Seed Limited employs around thirty people between their two feed stores and one grain elevator site (R.Yantzi, personal communication, November 28, 2016)
This expansion in production will have an additional benefit to the Canadian export companies who will be handling and shipping of the product to Nepal for Shur Gain. Although the impact would not be much it would still generate some economic impact for Canadians.
Benefits to Canada
Figure 3. (Costello, 2014)
Figure 2. (Costello, 2014)