Starting Strong – Calf Care

Raising replacement heifers is an expensive but vital component of any dairy farm’s success. 

Dr. Greg Bethard, chief financial officer for Pagel Family Businesses, uses a strategic approach in assessing the efficiency of raising heifers on two large dairy farms.

We tend to see greater emphasis put on calf and cow nutrition while heifers are pushed to the back of the mind. Although many consider a good, early start and maintaining production later on most important, nutrition during the transition period is what helps prepare the cow for long-term production.

By Progressive Dairyman Editor Peggy Coffeen
When a young calf breaks with scours, 80 percent of the time the cause is from one of three sources.

At the Vita Plus Calf Summit, Dr. Jeremy Schefers, University of Minnesota, explained how to protect calves from falling victim to one – or all three – of these scour culprits.

By Progressive Dairyman Editor Peggy Coffeen
Ensuring food safety by preventing drug residues is what matters, but how can dairy producers make this a part of their everyday protocols?

According to Dr. David Rhoda with the Wisconsin Veterinary Medicinal Association (WVMA), the Food Armor^® program provides the answer.

To kick-off Vita Plus Calf Summit 2016, about 120 attendees participated in the preconference Farm School on June 21 at Ostrowski Farms, Inc. in Eland, Wisconsin.  While on farm, participants rotated through several stations to learn the best management practices in a wide variety of calf and heifer care areas.  Each speaker shared their key points for attendees to take back to their home farms.

In this edition of Calf Chat, Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist, shares some alternatives you might consider when feeding calves as the new VFD rules are implemented.

Schmitz Family Builds on Generations of Hard Work
Driving down a state highway in Bruce, Wisconsin, you’ll see an old dairy barn that has clearly weathered a lot of years.  On the opposite side, you’ll see a much larger freestall barn surrounded by construction materials.  A new addition on the freestall is near completion and much needed after the farm grew from 750 to 900 cows in the last year. 

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Stacy Jauquet of Jauquet's Hillview Dairy LLC explains the tools she uses to test total serum proteins and evaluate success of passive transfer.  This helps her gauge how well her colostrum program is managed.

By Jessica Bryan, Vita Plus Kennan dairy consultant
It is starting to look a lot like spring in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with the snow melt gone and the rainy weather bringing more moisture.  It makes it a little easier to think about the coming summer.

By Dr. Ken Nordlund, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine clinical professor emeritus

Question:  How has calf raising changed during your career?

Answer:  I worked as a dairy veterinarian in private practice in Minnesota for 12 years then as a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 25 years. While lots of things have come and gone, three items that have big impacts for the good of dairy calves are more milk, fresher air, and better drainage.  

Question:  What is the average birthweight of a Holstein calf? 

Quck answer:  85 pounds

A little more on that...

In this video, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator, discusses many of the facility considerations needed to successfully feed young calves.  From bottle angles to correct pail heights, many factors impact whether a calf can easily and comfortably get the nutrition it needs.

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
So let’s start out with a trivia question:  What primary test does a milk plant, such as a cheese factory, use to monitor the efficacy of milk pasteurization?  

Answer: Alkaline phosphatase activity

By Gary Sipiorski, Vita Plus dairy development manager
It is hard to think forward to the day when a newborn heifer calf will freshen herself.  It is really difficult when milk prices on her birthday are less than the cost of the farm’s ability to produce milk. In some producers’ minds, it can be just another expensive mouth to feed. 

With warmer weather here, it’s a great time for a little spring cleaning and maintenance before the farm gets too busy with fieldwork.  A hutch maintenance toolbox is a handy item to have.  That way, you have one organized place for all the supplies you need as you fix hutches, panels and pens. 

In this edition of Calf Chat, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf product coordinator, walks us through the steps of successfully transitioning calves from individual hutches or pens to group housing.  Limiting the number of stressors calves face at any given time is key.