There are some events where you walk away with a head full of new ideas, and our latest Lancashire & Yorkshire Women in Dairy get-together was exactly that kind of day. Hosted by Dan & Emma White at Wedacre Farm in Gisburn, on a proper scorcher of a morning, the group welcomed Bianca Theeruth, Ruminant Technology Application Specialist (UK & Ireland) for Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health, who gave a brilliant talk titled “Water – The Invisible Nutrient.”
It’s a subject that gets talked about far less than protein, energy or colostrum, but as Bianca made clear, that’s exactly the problem.
The question that got everyone thinking
Bianca opened with a simple scenario: if you had a problem on farm, what would you test first – milk replacer, starter feed, or water? Most people’s instinct goes straight to the feed. Water is rarely the first place we look, yet it’s often the most overlooked link in the chain.
She followed it up by asking the room what they considered the most important nutrient: protein, energy, colostrum or water. The answer, perhaps surprisingly to some, is water. A calf is a water-based organism made up of 75–80% water, with blood at around 90% water and muscle at roughly 75%. When you put it in those terms, it’s hard to argue that water is anything less than fundamental.
Busting the water myths
Bianca ran through some of the most common assumptions farmers make about water, and why they don’t hold up:
- Milk provides enough water – it doesn’t cover a calf’s full requirement
- Clear water means good water – appearance tells you very little about what’s actually in it
- Water only matters in summer – calves need access to clean water year-round, not just in hot weather
- No scour means no water problem – water issues can exist long before scour becomes visible
- Water testing is difficult – in reality, it’s one of the more straightforward things to test on farm
Why water drives weaning success
One of the clearest takeaways from the talk was the chain reaction water sets off: water intake drives starter feed intake, which drives fermentation in the rumen, which produces the VFAs (volatile fatty acids) responsible for developing rumen papillae, and that papillae development is what underpins a successful, low-stress weaning. Skip the first link, and the whole chain is weaker for it.
How much water do calves actually need?
Requirements increase steadily as calves grow:
- 0–2 weeks: 1–4 litres/day
- Pre-weaning: 2–8 litres/day
- Weaning: 5–12 litres/day
- 3–6 months: 10–25+ litres/day
It’s a steep curve, and one that’s easy to underestimate if you’re not actively measuring intake against it.
Water as an early warning system
Perhaps the most practical point of the day: a drop in water intake is often the very first sign that something is wrong – well before you see a drop in feed intake, a dip in growth rates, or the onset of disease. Keeping an eye on drinking behaviour gives you a head start on problems that would otherwise go unnoticed until they’re already affecting performance.
And the financial case is straightforward too. Water underpins growth, health, weaning outcomes and lifetime performance – which makes it, in pound and pence terms, one of the most cost-effective things to get right.
If we test everything else, why not water?
As Bianca pointed out, most farms already test silage, milk, blood and colostrum as a matter of routine. Water rarely makes that list, despite playing just as significant a role.
She walked through the journey water takes from source to tank, through the pipework, into the bucket or drinker, and finally to the calf – and at every stage, there’s potential for things to go wrong. Clear water at the tap doesn’t guarantee clean water at the drinker. The three things worth checking along that journey are:
- Microbial content
- Mineral content
- The system itself – source, tank, pipe, bucket, drinker
Who can help?
You don’t need to figure this out alone. Your vet, your nutritionist, a laboratory, or a water specialist can all play a part in getting a clear picture of water quality on your farm.
The traffic light system
To help prioritise when testing matters most, Bianca shared a simple traffic light approach:
- 🟢 Green – Annual testing as routine good practice
- 🟠 Amber – Test if performance changes
- 🔴 Red – Test immediately if: a new borehole is in use, a new calf shed has been built, scour issues appear, growth rates drop, or the water’s appearance changes
Your water to-do list
Bianca left the group with four simple questions every farmer should be able to answer:
- Where does my calf water come from?
- When was it last tested?
- Would I drink it?
- Who is responsible for it?
If you can’t confidently answer all four, that’s probably a sign of where to start.
About Lancashire & Yorkshire Women in Dairy
Lancashire & Yorkshire Women in Dairy is facilitated by Laura Scott, Senior Ruminant Specialist at Dugdale Nutrition, who organises the group’s monthly meet-ups and keeps the momentum going between sessions. Laura’s background in ruminant nutrition means she has a sharp eye for the topics that matter most to the women working in dairy across the region, and she works hard to bring in speakers and farm hosts who can offer something genuinely useful and thought-provoking. If you’re not already part of the group and would like to get involved, get in touch and we’ll point you in the right direction.
A huge thank you
Thank you to Dan & Emma White for hosting us at Wedacre Farm, and to Bianca Theeruth and Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health for such an eye-opening session. Events like these are exactly what the Lancashire & Yorkshire Women in Dairy group is all about: practical, farmer-focused learning that you can take straight back to your own yard.
If you’d like to talk through water quality, calf nutrition, or any part of your feeding programme, the Dugdale Nutrition team is always happy to help. Call us on 01200 420200.
