Editor’s note: The following is the final installment of a three-part editorial commentary series by Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley about his observations traveling with members of the U.S. Dairy Export Council on a trade mission to the Middle East. And I thought root-beer-flavored milk was a unique taste? Try date-flavored milk. That’s what Jaya Kumar, general manager of Gulf and Safa Dairies, offered me and others traveling with the U.S. Dairy Export Council on a trade mission in Dubai while we visited his company’s milk processing headquarters.

Imagine that you have a 500-cow dairy with a fresh pen that has 50 freestalls and an equal number of lockups. Do you know how to meet your fresh cows’ needs? Can you notice small things that may possibly give you a hint that cow #2882 is having some postpartum concerns? Is your labor set up to handle these issues? We will consider a couple of ways to get organized to handle these concerns by focused observation and assessing risk management.

Colostrum management is a frequent topic of discussion in animal husbandry, but less attention has been given to colostrogenesis – the formation and concentration of colostrum in the cow. The importance of antibodies in the prevention of disease in the first weeks of life is well documented in most species. Calves, however, are born without any significant level of antibody protection because there is no exchange of antibodies from cow to calf through the bloodstream prior to birth. The calf can only access these life-saving antibodies and other important immune factors through the ingestion of colostrum in the first few hours after birth.

Whether you raise calves for your own dairy or for others, raising calves well is crucial to the success of your operation. The aspects of nutrition, health and economics are not only vital, but are interrelated. One way to maximize all three of these aspects is to raise the bar and aim for better performance. Colostrum Colostrum is critically important in the first hours of a calf’s life. Many experts recommend feeding calves good quality colostrum at the rate of at least 12 percent of their bodyweight within one hour of birth.

In the last decade, better feed efficiency, optimal growth and higher future milk production have been the sought-after goals in calf nutrition. Recent on-farm nutrition trials are beginning to demonstrate the effects of a higher plane of nutrition within the first 12 weeks of life.

Editor’s note: The following article summarizes an online survey being conducted on the use of tail docking. Do you dock the tails of cows on your farm? Do your neighbors? What do you think of this practice? Here is your chance to share your views with other readers by participating in an online tail docking survey. You can see online which answers (and the reasons behind these) are most popular. We will also report results back to readers in the next issue, summarizing the most popular reasons for agreeing and disagreeing with docking the tails of dairy cows.

Paying attention to the calf from the start can be the best dairy practice when thinking about the future of your operation. After calving, it is time to route that time and attention towards the health of the baby calf. Once a calf is born, they often do not get enough attention, end up getting sick, grow poorly or even die. Losing a Holstein heifer calf can cost $300, which during this current economic climate can leave some serious implications on the profitability of any dairy operation.

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