Posted on February 23rd, 2017 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Chad Howlett, Vita Plus beef program manager The Holstein steer feed and marketing world has experienced quite a bit of angst in the past couple months. Basis on cash Holstein steers at the auction houses has widened to as much as -$45 per hundredweight (cwt) under colored cattle. Typically, basis runs -$5 to -$7 under beef breed animals. When you factor in the difference, you could be taking a hit of about $550 per head.
Posted on August 26th, 2016 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By PJ Neff, Vita Plus dairy specialist, and Chance Meteer, Vita Plus beef specialist So far in 2016, the cattle market has seen an abundance of ups and downs. As expected, prices for both feeder cattle and finished cattle have been extremely volatile. However, on the calf side, Holstein bull calf markets have continued to steadily decline over the last few months, which has prompted many calf raisers to fill up or remain at full capacity.
Posted on July 2nd, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman Dairy producers are beef producers too, which is why it is important to ensure meat quality by preventing injection site lesions and drug residues.
According to Dr. Richard Wallace, DVM, MS, with Zoetis , dairy producers can capture more value for their cull cows by focusing on Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) guidelines. When a cow goes to slaughter with injection site lesions, this not only slows down the production...
Posted on February 26th, 2013 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Bruce Owens, Vita Plus district sales and marketing manager
Like other parts of the Midwest, calf raisers here in Indiana and western Ohio are dealing with a challenging winter. Temperature swings have been rough on calves this year just like they were last year. Most of the calves I see are in hutches, so they have good ventilation. The catch is that producers have to work extra hard to make sure bedding stays dry. Most have been doing a good job...
Posted on December 26th, 2012 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Dr. Laurie Winkelman, Vita Plus dairy nutritionist and technical services specialist Calves are born into this world without immunity or the ability to fight off pathogens and infections. Unlike humans, the cow’s placenta does not allow antibodies to transfer from cow to calf. High quality colostrum is the only way to prepare these newborns for the rest of their lives.
The benefits of feeding high-quality colostrum to newborn heifer calves are obvious. The same benefits exist for newborn...
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