Calf

Calf purchasing

At PALI Group, we devote considerable care and attention to selecting and purchasing calves. The vast size of the European dairy industry means that huge numbers of calves are born in the Netherlands, offering abundant choice. As long as we need cows for their milk, there will also be calves for veal.

Half a million per year

PALI Group handles more than 500,000 calves a year: 300,000 calves for slaughter and 200,000 for raising. Our unweaned calves are sourced mainly from Dutch and German dairy farms.

Selection and collection

The calves are selected with great care at our selection centres. We sort the calves according to their weight, breed, class and general health. This allows us to offer farmers the most suitable choice. After they are delivered to the veal farm, the calves continue to grow until they are six to twelve months old.

Unweaned calves and starters

The calves that PALI Group buys from dairy farms and supplies to veal farms are at least 14 days old. Some of these calves are unweaned, meaning that their diet has consisted purely of milk, and they have not transitioned to solid feed. There is also a category known as 'starters'. These animals are between 12 and 14 weeks old and have just been weaned. They no longer drink milk and are fed a mixture of roughage and enriched compound feed.

Contract farms and independent veal farms

We supply our calves to carefully selected veal farms. We have contractual agreements with some veal farmers, and we also work extensively with independent veal farms. We maintain close contact with all of these farms. They know they can rely on us for advice and support, for example, on nutrition. We all work together to improve quality and profitability in the sector.

Would you like to know more about how we buy and sell calves?