Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this segment of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Jonathon Hallock, MarBec Dairy, highlights the numerous things his team does to keep calves healthy and strong through periods of hot weather and heat stress.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Automated calf feeding systems continue to increase in popularity throughout the upper Midwest despite little uniformity in facility design, feeding method, and performance across farms and no industry-wide accepted model to balance facility performance and cost.

My opinion is that the technology in automated calf feeders is quite good, however, many farms still struggle to manage calves in groups. We have identified 10 common factors limiting group feeding systems, and suggest some strategies to correct these shortcomings and monitor success.

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
It’s easy to get lost in the details of ration formulation and calving protocols when preparing dairy heifers for their first lactation, but these are not the only important aspects of a successful heifer transition program.

By Cassie Stillman, Vita Plus Loyal dairy specialist
Summer has finally arrived in central Wisconsin, but we had to first go through some unpleasant weather in May. Heavy rainfall and cool temperatures made it difficult on calves. Discussions with our team and on-farm observations point to respiratory problems as one of producers’ main concerns. In addition, keeping calves hydrated and stress-free with the recent warm weather has become a priority. Adjusting from one season to another can be very stressful on youngstock if the transition period is not smooth.

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
Organic matter in milk will significantly compromise a pasteurizer's effectiveness. If your pasteurizer does not have an inline filtering system, use a screen to filter the milk going into the pasteurizer tank.

Schilling Farms LLC Achieves Performance Goals with Calves Back Home

Developing and sticking to calf care protocols is the name of the game for Schilling Farms LLC in Darlington, Wisconsin.

For 10 years, the farm sent all nursery calves to a custom grower before bringing them all back home within a two-week span in 2011. The team established as many protocols as possible to “get it right from the start” and modified those protocols as they rebuilt the calf program.

By Dr. Kevin Ratka, Vita Plus dairy specialist
Vaccination protocols are very important to maintain the health and productivity of each herd. A considerable amount of time is spent discussing and analyzing which vaccines should be used and when is the optimal time to use each vaccine to achieve maximal immunity. However, sometimes the basics of vaccine handling and storage get overlooked, leading to poor response to the vaccine and putting herds at risk for disease. Here are some of the basic guidelines to ensure optimal results.