Starting Strong – Calf Care

By Dr. Jeff Acker, Veterinary Services of Wisconsin, LLC Q: As we switch from winter to summer protocols, what should be our top priorities for getting calves ready for a new season? A:  Spring is the season of the most dramatic climate changes of the year.  This past winter was rather long, but also stable

By Doug Olsen, Vita Plus dairy territory manager Here in central Wisconsin, I’m seeing a lot of dairies investing in new calf facilities.  Many in the area are building barns with individual pens and some are transitioning to automatic calf feeding systems with group pens.  It seems most of these autofeeder systems are going on

  In this edition of Starting Strong A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Brooke Carrow discusses all of the things the Enchanted Dairy team does to get ready for summer, including cleaning, fly control and review of health protocols.

Success Is in the Details at Tag Lane Dairy Kevin Griswold’s parents were milking about 90 Guernsey cows when he returned to the family farm in 1992.  Since then, Tag Lane Dairy in Ixonia, Wisconsin has steadily grown to 1,050 cows and has transitioned to a mostly Holstein herd.  All of the animals are identified

  In this edition of Starting Strong Calf Chat, we're looking to summer as the temperature slowly begins to rise.  It's time to do some good spring cleaning and that includes pails, bottles, hutches, calf jackets and more.

Deep bedding is essential for baby calves to nest and conserve energy.  Dry bedding is equally important for good respiratory health.  Spending 30 seconds to do the knee test can help you make sure bedding is adequate.

We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can optimize the nutrition of our dairy calves and cows.  But do we spend that much time thinking about how we can enrich our own diets with nutritious dairy products? As we wrap up American Heart Month, let’s spend a few minutes reviewing dairy’s role

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator This winter has thrown us many challenges: a lot of snow, rain, huge temperature swings, cold stretches, and on and on. It is easy to think with the recent warmer temperatures we are getting close to the end. Even so, I challenge you to stay the course

With Dr. Amy Stanton, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dairy Science assistant professor and animal wellbeing specialist Calf raisers understand the importance of reducing stress to the calf, especially during its first few months of life.  The less energy a calf must spend dealing with stress, the more energy it can put toward healthy development and growth.

By Scott Hall, Vita Plus safety director Farm safety has always been a concern to protect workers and family members. In the past, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has placed most of its energy on construction and general industry. This approach recently changed to place more focus on the smaller employers that may

By Dr. Becky Brotzman, DVM, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine associate outreach specialist Q:  We are considering building a roof over our hutches to keep the area in front of them dry during periods of rain and snow.  Would you recommend this?  A:  Calf hutches are currently the “gold standard” for successful, individual

By Bruce Owens, Vita Plus district sales and marketing manager Like other parts of the Midwest, calf raisers here in Indiana and western Ohio are dealing with a challenging winter.  Temperature swings have been rough on calves this year just like they were last year.  Most of the calves I see are in hutches, so

In this edition of Starting Strong A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Brooke Carrow takes us on a tour of Enchanted Dairy's custom calf raiser's facility and explains the transitions the calves will go through before returning to Enchanted Dairy.

Continual Innovation Takes Farm to the Next Generation Gradual, steady steps forward and openness to new ideas are two of the defining characteristics of Orthridge Jerseys.  The farm, located near Lancaster, Wisconsin, was purchased by Randy and Laura Orth in 1993.  Since then, the farm has expanded to 325 Jersey cows, almost all of which

In this edition of Starting Strong Calf Chat, Ann reminds us that while calves are always a top priority, we need to take care of our people too.  What can you do to boost safety and efficiency and provide a comfortable working environment for your team?

 Shoveling out calf hutches after a big snow storm is never fun.  Here's how you can speed up the snow removal process.