Starting Strong – Calf Care

By Kim Bremmer, Vita Plus Loyal dairy specialist After working with family farms for more than a decade, I truly believe nothing is more rewarding than building a business with your family.  However, it can also be one of the most challenging things you will ever do.  It’s hard enough to wear a “parent” hat,

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator Waste milk and colostrum pasteurizers are now standard equipment on many of today’s calf operations. While feeding pasteurized waste milk and colostrum can have many benefits, it can also create a lot of problems if the units are not maintained. I often see pasteurizers work well for

With Dr. Mark Sosalla, Country Hills Animal Health Calves are born with virtually no immune system, making them extremely susceptible to infections and illness. According to Dr. Mark Sosalla, two key factors can help keep calves healthy:  colostrum and navel dipping. Sosalla is a veterinarian with Country Hills Animal Health in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 

With Floyd Sutton, Zinpro Imagine you have a three-year-old daughter.  Up to this point, you’ve done your absolute best to provide her with a healthy diet.  You make sure she eats a balance of dairy foods, meats, fruits, vegetables and nutritious grains. Now, you’re going to switch her to a diet of donuts and candy

By Dr. Steve Hayes, Day 1 Technology Q:  How does my waste milk compare to the bulk tank milk I sell when it comes to feeding calves? A:  This is a great question since so many calf raisers are using some or all waste milk to feed their calves today. One may think that waste

By Kate McAndrews, Vita Plus dairy specialist Hello from Minnesota!  Fall is a very busy time of year as the harvest comes in, fieldwork (hopefully) moves along and winter plans are set.  As we all find plenty of tasks to complete on our to-do lists, producers are still taking the time to check their current

 In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Danae Stieglitz of Stieglitz Dairy LLC shares her strategies for feeding pasteurized waste milk.  She also shares her team's thought process for purchasing the pasteurizer as well as a few of the challenges she's encountered with the technology.  Visit our YouTube

BLT Dairy Puts Focus on Consistency and Cleanliness for Calves Laura Friesen has lived on a dairy farm and raised calves her entire life.  Based on her experiences, she said raising healthy calves really comes down to two important factors:  Keep their care consistent and their environment clean. Laura and her husband, Brad, own and

In this edition of Calf Chat, we get ready for the cold months coming our way.  Ann reminds us to add energy to liquid feeding programs, get out the calf jackets, and provide deep bedding for nesting.   Visit our YouTube channel for more Calf Chat segments.

Keeping feed in front of heifers is obviously a must to keep them growing.  Simply taking a broom and pushing up feed three to five times a day keeps feed in front of them and keeps them eating.  Visit our YouTube channel for more Calf Care Quick Tips.

More than 120 farm women, employee owners and industry peers gathered together August 16 for Vita Plus Expedition Chick Day 2013. The annual event took place at Indianhead Holsteins Ltd. in Barron, Wisconsin. Each part of the event focused on the theme of “The Power of One” as attendees were reminded that one small pebble

By Augusta Hagen, Vita Plus dairy nutrition and management fellow We’ve had a moderately cool summer, but we all know that has abruptly changed this last week. Hot days and humidity make for lots of uncomfortable, low-producing cows. To cope in our dairy barns, we have implemented innovative cooling systems to keep our cows comfortable,

By Dr. David Carlson, Elanco Animal Health Coccidiosis is an infection of the large and small intestines caused by protozoan parasites.  Coccidiosis is a costly disease with an estimated worldwide economic impact of $400 million annually due to death loss and veterinary costs associated with clinical infection.  This estimate of economic impact does not include

With Pat Hoffman, University of Wisconsin-Madison dairy extension specialist For years, dairy producers have been told they should target specific breeding weights and lower the average breeding age of their heifers. But according to Pat Hoffman, University of Wisconsin dairy extension specialist, there’s just one small problem with this school of thought. “No single heifer

By Dr. Rob Farruggio, Jefferson Veterinary Clinic Q:  As I look at my calf rearing program, I feel like our maternity area may be the weakest link. We really start to see more newborn calf issues as we near the end of the summer. Do you have advice on ways to improve our maternity area?

By Kristi Keilen, Vita Plus dairy specialist Here in Michigan, things have been going well this month.   An unusually cool summer has been very good for the calves.  With temperatures staying right around the 70s, we haven’t had much heat stress to worry about and calves have minimal health issues.  Temperatures have climbed this week,