Virtual Farm Tour: Sponem Valley View Dairy, LLC – Wisconsin

Posted on August 22, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Sponem Valley View Dairy, LLC Makes Gradual Changes to Growing Family Farm Steve Sponem grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.  At the time he and his now wife, Karen, started dating, the 30 heifer calves born per year did very well in their group pens in the milking barn. But

Video: Calf Chat with Noah – Boosting Starter Intake

Posted on August 22, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
In this edition of Starting Strong Calf Chat, Dr. Noah Litherland describes the "magical" effects starter intake can have on calf health and performance.  He shares five factors that affect intakes as well as three tips to boost intakes in your calves.  Visit our YouTube channel for more Calf Chat segments.

Jolene Brown, family business consultant – Who’s Hiding the Humor?

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman Iowa farm woman and professional speaker Jolene Brown finds humor in just about every situation … even backing the pickup truck into the grain bin. At the Vita Plus Calf Summit, Brown reminded attendees that laughter is not only the key for finding personal happiness, but also for

John Pagel, Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy – Building Success Through Your Employees

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker Learning to manage your own farm business can be tricky. The last thing you want to be frustrated with is your employees.  John Pagel of Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy LLC knows firsthand the struggle of dealing with employees, as he employs 120 on his own

Dr. Sam Barringer, Merck Animal Health – New Technology Applied Sensibly in Calf Raising

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman U.S. Army and Air Force member Dr. Sam Barringer, DVM, has served our country overseas, but on U.S. soil, he is leading a mission to raise healthier calves. The dairy technical service team member with Merck Animal Health compares designing a successful calf-raising system to his work setting

Dr. Steve Hayes, Day 1 Technology – Gizmos or Guesses: Evaluating Tools to Measure Calf Performance

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker Most calf raisers have three primary goals, according to Dr. Stephen Hayes with Day 1 Technology. These three goals are: to keep calves alive, to keep calves healthy, and to keep calves growing. Based on these goals, Hayes came up with four gizmos to

Dr. Ken Nordlund, University of Wisconsin-Madison – What’s All the Fuss About Positive Pressure Tubes in Calf Barns?

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Article written by Macy Sarbacker Positive pressure tube ventilation systems are becoming more and more common, according to Dr. Ken Nordlund with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. Tubes are primarily used to supplement natural ventilation in nursing calf barns. “Unlike most ventilation systems, tube systems can be used to put air exactly

Preconference Producer Panel Discussion – Lessons Learned with Autofeeders

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker When it comes to autofeeders, those who have installed the technology on their farms have learned through experience how to best operate them and what they would do differently if given the chance. In the preconference session at Vita Plus Calf Summit 2014, Chad

Dr. Julian “Skip” Olson, Milk Products, LLC – Animal Welfare Audit: What to Expect

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman With nearly 90 percent of consumers indicating that animal welfare is a concern, dairy producers must communicate their efforts to uphold the highest standards of care, and an animal welfare audit is one way to achieve this. “With few exceptions, farmers do a

Dr. Rob Farruggio, Jefferson Veterinary Clinic – The Invisible Threat: It’s a Meance to the Dairy

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker Calf raisers can easily pick out major disease threats in their herds, according to Dr. Rob Farruggio of Jefferson Veterinary Clinic in Jefferson, Wisconsin. These known threats include the bacterial and viral causes of both scours and pneumonia. The long-term impact of scours means

Dr. Harry Momont, University of Wisconsin-Madison – Calving 101: Everyone Gets Out Alive

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman When it comes to calving, the biggest question is when to intervene, according to Dr. Harry Momont, DVM, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. How to intervene runs a close second. When to intervene? Momont suggested a structured approach when it comes to deciding whether

Dr. Richard Wallace, Zoetis – The Beef Side of Milk

Posted on July 2, 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

Dr. Frank Garry, Colorado State University – Improving Newborn Calf Survival

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman We often associate the stress of giving birth with how it affects the cow and underestimate the dramatic physiological changes that the calf undergoes, according to Colorado State University’s Dr. Franklyn Garry, DVM, MS. “At birth, the calf faces the biggest challenges

Dave Wood, Animix – Supplements for Pasteurized Milk & Milk Replacers: Choose Wi$ely

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman When it comes to caring for calves, the options are endless for ingredients and additives that promise to promote health or increase gains, which is why David Wood, Animix, tells dairy producers to choose wisely. When evaluating calf supplements, Wood suggests keeping

Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus – Precision Calf Nutrition

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker Precision nutrition is the idea that you treat the calf as an individual, according to Vita Plus Dairy Youngstock Technical Specialist Noah Litherland. If calves are not growing or are losing bodyweight, then the start of first lactation is delayed and potentially compromised. This

Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus – Real World Sources of Variance in Heifer Performance

Posted on July 2, 2014 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Click to download the PowerPoint presentation Article written by Macy Sarbacker You’ve got a wobbly-legged, newborn heifer calf. She’s still wet and you’re drying her off. What do you know about the kind of cow she’s going to be? Are all calves born with the potential to become great dairy cows? What is the balance