Successful beef and dairy producers know that a big threat to newborn calves is failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity. Basically, it’s when calves don’t get enough natural disease protection passed to them from the dam.

Researchers at Colorado State University are investigating the weighty topic of antibiotic resistance – an issue with ramifications for global food safety and public health – by tracking the genetic footprints of drug-resistant bacteria.

“Well Em, today is the first day in 48 years that I haven’t owned a dairy cow,” Dad said to me as we wrapped up our annual New Year’s Day dinner with the family.

Reuters, an international news agency headquartered in London, recently investigated the use of the antibiotic ceftiofur in the U.S. dairy industry, stating that “the frequency at which it’s used improperly in cattle poses a threat to public health.” The article is part of a series investigating superbugs and their connection to antibiotic use in the animal food industry.

I’m sure you may have heard a farmer say, “Someday this farm will be his,” or “Someday we will get to the lawyer’s office, but we have work to do.” My sister, Barbara Edie, wrote the headline, “Someday is not a day on my calendar,” when she relayed the memories of an active 1988 spent with my other sister, Grace, who died tragically that year. Barb’s resolve was to never put things off and not let “someday” creep into her thinking.

To get calves off to a fast start and achieve early growth goals, calf and heifer raisers invest in newborn and pre-weaned calf nutrition. Despite the extra attention on pre-weaned calf performance, it is not uncommon for the level of calf nutrition to slough off once calves are weaned.