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This is the first winter the Laing family of Laingspring Farm, Steinbach, Manitoba, has been able to enjoy not getting up for morning milking at 5 a.m. Brothers Tyrone and Ted run a dairy operation in partnership with their parents, Ray and Bertha, on a farm established in 1872.
For the past 32 years, the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar (WCDS) has focused on providing novel ideas, information and solutions relevant to current and emerging challenges of the Canadian dairy industry. The 2015 event, to be held March 10-13 at the Sheraton Red Deer in Red Deer, Alberta, will do the same.
If we look at the dairy industry, there are numerous approaches to calf rearing. While there is no one single, current-day approach that is best, there is one optimal way to rear calves we can learn much from. That optimal way of rearing calves is to leave the calf with her dam. This is the way the calf was designed to be raised and nurtured.
Ontario is one of the richest regions of the world in terms of access to fresh water. While water seems to be all around us and always available, the importance of water quality and its role in a young animal’s life is often neglected.
Want smarter cows? Try raising calves with social companions.
Previous work from the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre demonstrated that calves raised in individual pens had more difficulty adapting to a group pen with five other calves after weaning than calves raised in pairs did.
Transition cow performance and management is crucial to every herd’s success and profitability. Cows that are neglected during the transition period or that fail to have their needs met are being set up for failure. Herd productivity and profitability are distinctly linked to the success or failure of the transition period.
