Many producers turn to a custom calf raiser because they want to offload heifer-raising challenges. You might have other reasons for sending calves away, such as saving forage and labor for the milking herd or the lack of updated calf facilities.

Giving calves a good start can be expensive. However, not investing in your calf operation can cost you in the parlor. Too many dairies chase after pennies of efficiency on the cow side but trip over dollars of missed opportunities in their calf program.

While failures of the immune system are often seen, little is taken into account of what the immune system requires and if it is getting what it needs from the digestive system of the animal.

In the realm of beef-on-dairy calves, the presence of beef genetics imparts inherent advantages, promising greater consistency and robust muscling when compared to their all-dairy breed counterparts. 

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Jenn Coyne visits with Jason Anderson and Pam Selz-Pralle regarding the recently updated Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) Gold Standards.

Understanding the fundamentals of vaccination helps optimize the return on your vaccine investments and ensure calves are prepared for the challenges they’ll face.

Salmonella are very contagious and pathogenic bacteria that can cause high mortality and economic losses in cattle. Salmonella Dublin (S. Dublin) is a specific kind of salmonella, known as a serotype, that is host-adapted to bovine.

If you are consistently having problems with your calves, consider having a third party complete a calf hygiene audit and ask about using an ATP meter.

I now view the common risk factors for disease – such as failure of passive transfer, dirty facilities and feeding equipment, cold stress and poor nutrition – as symptoms of a lack of proactive, structured monitoring programs designed to track protocol compliance as well as calf performance.