CALVES & HEIFERS

We expect a lot from heifer calves in today’s modern dairy world, which requires more efficiency and consistency for success. Populating the milking herd with any heifer is no longer viable.

Capturing calf growth potential is one of the greatest benefits of automatic calf feeders. But by the time weaning comes around, we tend to take our eyes off the ball in a hurry to move calves out the door.

Harmful pathogens lurk everywhere on a dairy. Taking a whole-farm approach to pathogen reduction can break the cycle of infection and re-infection that may prevent your herd from performing at its best.

Raising replacement animals is a key segment of many dairy operations. Not only does it represent a significant cost, but it also demands an important investment in time and dedication to raise highly performing heifers.

From birth, calves’ naïve immune systems are assaulted by challenges: new environments, fast diet transitions, exposure to disease and sometimes transportation and commingling. That makes it no surprise the dairy industry continues to battle pre-weaning losses.

If you raise cattle, you likely know about and have dealt with dystocia or calving difficulty. How dystocia is scored and assessed can prove quite variable.