Starting Strong – Calf Care

By Emma Waterworth, Vita Plus Fall River grain marketing intern You know quality calf feed is vital to the health and development of a growing calf, but what makes a quality feed? A good pelleted calf starter or grower consists of clean grains and a good, hard pellet.  Several factors to consider while assessing grain

By Dr. Emily Schier, Lena Veterinary Clinic When you look out into your calf pens, do you feel like you are just running into problems? Does it feel like everything is jetting out of control?  Can you just see the money hemorrhaging out of your pockets? Well, it could be that your scouring problems are

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist Question:  I've heard arguments on both sides.  Which is better?  Texturized or pelleted starter feeds? A:  Since the early 1930s, researchers have evaluated the impact of calf starter grain formulation and physical form (texturized versus pelleted) on dry matter intake and calf growth.  There is

By Brittany Stewart, Vita Plus Dodgeville dairy specialist Here in southwest Wisconsin, the hot summer weather finally showed up, but the cooler summer months have brought on a few challenges. Although spring came late this year, fly control was still a high priority. Fly control is key to keeping  calves comfortable and reducing the incidence

In this edition of Starting Strong A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Danae Stieglitz of Stieglitz Dairy LLC talks about training employees on proper calf care.  By doing so, Danae ensures newborn calves receive ultimate care from all employees, regardless of whether she is there or not.  A big thank you to

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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