What’s in colostrum?

Posted on October 27, 2023 in Calf and heifer nutrition
By Bethany Dado-Senn, Ph.D., Vita Plus | When a calf consultant talks about the importance of colostrum, it’s reminiscent of the “eat vegetables” lecture from the doctor or the “floss daily” reminder from the dentist; these tasks are important for our health, but it’s not always clear why.

Virtual Farm Tour: McAllister Family Dairy

Posted on August 4, 2023 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
The owners of McAllister Family Dairy in New Vienna, Iowa, wanted to build a new calf care facility that could provide the best environment possible for raising healthy calves. When designing the facility, they focused on excellent ventilation and labor efficiency. In early 2022, calves moved into the new barn, which has space for 98 pre- and post-weaned calves. The farm managers are pleased with how the facility has met their goals in the last 18 months.

Virtual Farm Tour: Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, LLC

Posted on April 26, 2023 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Between 20 and 40 calves are born each day at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, LLC in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. With exceptional animal care as a top priority on the farm, the team continually looks for opportunities to learn, evolve, and adopt new strategies to minimize stress – both for the animals and the employees – during each calving.

Calf care checklist: 5 steps to stay ahead of a colostrum slump

Posted on October 19, 2022 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Dr. Bethany Dado-Senn | If your farm has a seasonal decrease in colostrum production across the late-fall and early-winter months, the following proactive steps can help you maintain a constant supply of high-quality colostrum for your valuable replacement herd.

Prevent the challenging heifer cycle (part 2)

Posted on July 27, 2022 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Dr. Noah Litherland | A challenging heifer cycle occurs when a portion of the heifer development phase does not go as planned and results in heifers that have lower-than-expected rates of growth, lung consolidation, or increased rate of non-completion of first lactation. The net result is often a reduced return on investment from the heifer program. This article, the second in a two-part series, discuss the impacts of management, labor and facilities.

Calf chat with Ann (video): What affects passive transfer?

Posted on April 13, 2022 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
In this edition, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf program manager, discusses the factors that affect passive transfer beyond how much IgG is fed to the calf.

Protect the gut to protect the lungs

Posted on February 10, 2022 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy technical services Respiratory disease is one of the primary challenges to successful heifer calf development. Maintaining intestinal integrity (protecting the gut) appears to be one path to protecting the lungs and decreasing respiratory disease risk. Thus, one goal of calf nutrition is to maintain intestinal integrity.

Calf chat with Ann: Keeping tabs on your pasteurizer

Posted on December 17, 2021 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
In this edition, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf program manager, walks us through two simple strategies to ensure your high-temp or batch pasteurizer is doing the job it is meant to do.

Expert’s corner: When maternal colostrum runs short

Posted on December 16, 2021 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf program manager Years of research prove the immense, long-term impact high-quality colostrum has on the health and performance of calves – the future of your herd. Maternal colostrum is a high-value asset on your farm. Unfortunately, that asset often runs short this time of year as many farms see a slump in colostrum production between November and February. Farms need to have a “plan B” in place as they don’t want to short calves on this vital nutrition.

Vita Plus SerPass 150 and SerPass 200 colostrum replacers: High-value tools for newborn calf care

Posted on October 8, 2021 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Vita Plus SerPass 150 and SerPass 200 premium calf colostrum replacers fully mix in less than 30 seconds and conveniently deliver more immunoglobulins per dollar in a single 2-quart feeding. To learn more, contact your Vita Plus consultant or dealer consultant, check our our product brochure, or call 800.362.8334.

This makes my life easier: Colostrum organization

Posted on October 6, 2021 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
The team at Keeler Dairy in McBride, Michigan, tests all maternal colostrum and stores it in a chest freezer according to its quality score.  This ensures that the youngest calves receive the highest-quality colostrum.  Lower-quality colostrum is reserved for second and third feedings.

8 action items to reduce summer calf stressors

Posted on July 22, 2021 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Noah Litherland, dairy technical services specialist
Heat stress can have significant impacts on dairy calf health and growth.  Here are eight action items to reduce the negative impacts of summer heat.

VIDEO: A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser – Maternity

Posted on November 23, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Jill Houin discusses the Homestead Dairy, LLC maternity protocols and how they give the calves a successful start to life.

Water Temperatures to Mix and Feed Colostrum Replacers

Posted on November 12, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

Cheryl Davis from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, responded to our Vita Plus Dairy Showcase e-newsletter with this question about colostrum replacers:

“What should the temperature of the water be for the colostrum before it is fed?”

VIDEO: Calf Chat with Ann – When Colostrum Runs Short

Posted on September 18, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of Calf Chat, Ann Hoskins discusses colostrum slumps and what calf raisers can do when enough quality colostrum isn't readily available.

5 Steps to Check if Your Pasteurizer is Doing the Job it Needs to Do

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
When a pasteurizer is working properly, it will destroy 98% to 99% of bacteria. Follow these five steps to make sure your pasteurizer is doing the job you need it to do.