Starting Strong – Calf Care

Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, located in Kewaunee, Wis., is the largest single family-owned dairy in Wisconsin. It all started in 1946 when Carl and Garnett Pagel purchased the farm with eight cows, eight pigs and some chickens. Since then, Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy has gone through tough times, but always managed to grow from those experiences. Pagel’s

The team at Dairy Dreams LLC values high quality calf care on its operation to ensure the best calf health around. Six years ago, Dairy Dreams purchased hutches and brought the calves home. The farm is currently building a heifer barn on the main farm to bring all heifers home and have all livestock in

Download a printable PDF Presentation When it comes to milk replacers, Dave Kuehnel, president of Milk Products LLC, knows the "in’s and out’s" of an ingredient label. During his presentation at Vita Plus Calf Summit, Kuehnel focused on an ingredient of milk replacer that may be more valuable in human food and medicine products: whey.

University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinarian Sheila McGuirk has several helpful hints when handling calves, particularly in stressful situations for youngstock, such as dehorning and vaccinations. She kicked off her wet lab presentation at Vita Plus Calf Summit by evaluating an animal for respiratory disease. She advised growers to look for the following symptoms, and if they

Dr. Max Thornsberry, veterinarian with Milk Specialties Global Animal Nutrition, has many years of experience in working with calves. Reiterating a few of Dr. Sheila McGuirk’s points, Thorsberry reminded calf raisers of the importance of proper handling during his Vita Plus Calf Summit wet lab presentation. Like McGuirk, Thornsberry urged producers to take their time

Download a printable PDF Presentation Bovine viral diarrhea viruses, also known as BVDV, affect all kinds of animals, including cattle, swine, llamas and more, according to Dr. Julia Ridpath with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s National Animal Disease Center. Even though the word “diarrhea” is included in the name, the primary target of the virus is

Download a printable PDF Presentation J Hall has been raising calves for the past 15 years. He started his business with a few hutches and has grown to raising 5,000 calves under five months and 1,800 heifers five-months to springers. This year, he is planning to continue the expansion of his operation to accommodate the

Download a printable PDF Presentation Autofeeders have advanced since they were first released on the market. According to Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator, more advanced autofeeders come with a reconsideration of how to manage your facility. Hoskins said autofeeders are free-range feeding systems. They allow milk on demand for the calves that are

Download a printable PDF Presentation Adequately taking care of your calves and heifers today is important because they will be influencing the milking herd’s performance in 2014. It seems as though most farmers don't spend enough time focusing on the calves and heifers, and spend most of their time dealing with the milk producing cows,

Download a printable PDF Presentation Raising a healthy replacement heifer is a long, complicated process.  According to Dr. David Carlson, technical services with Milk Products LLC, calf growth is influenced by many factors, including genetics, environment, health and nutrition.  Understanding how all the factors work together can have a big impact on the management decisions

A veterinarian by training, Dr. Don Niles, co-owner and manager of Dairy Dreams, LLC, understands the value of good records to monitor calf performance. Prior to listening to his presentation at Vita Plus Calf Summit, attendees had the opportunity to visit the 2,800-cow dairy and see firsthand how good management goes a long way in

Download a printable PDF Presentation Animal stockmanship is important to ensure animals are cared for in the safest way. Dr. Paul Rapnicki, University of Minnesota, said his goal for stockmanship is to reconnect the dairy industry through employees, vets, herdsmen and more. Communication is the key to efficient and safe animal handling. Rapnicki said many

LeRoy Butler joined Calf Summit attendees to share his inspiring life story of facing adversity with the right attitude. Butler is a former strong safety for the Green Bay Packers and the inventor of the "Lambeau Leap." Butler was born and raised in the inner-city of Jacksonville, Fla. His childhood included countless trips to the

Download a printable PDF Presentation Genomics is an emerging technology, and those using it are learning as they go. The application of genomics in a commercial herd makes the most sense with heifers and calves, said University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pat Hoffman. Preparing a sample for a genomics test can be as simple as plucking a

  Download a printable PDF Presentation Darin Mann is a co-owner of M & M Feedlot, a 13,000-head heifer feedlot on the border of Oregon and Idaho. This feedlot is unique because, not only does it house 13,000 animals, but it also does it right next to a river and U.S. fish and game ponds.

The warm winter certainly made for nice conditions for calf raisers, but it will add some challenges for calf managers this summer. In this edition of Calf Chat, Ann explores what calf management practices to focus on without a winter kill of bacteria.