Currently, producers throughout the U.S. may be asked to either dump loads of milk or reduce production as dairy markets respond to decreased demand for dairy products caused by changes in the restaurant trade. This is a challenging proposition with few totally “right” answers.

A common goal of any dairy farmer is to grow healthy calves that can express their full genetic potential in the parlor. But, for all calves to become high-producing cows, they must have a successful transition from a milk-based diet to a grain and forage-based diet.

Raising replacement heifers is the second-greatest cost on a dairy farm, and these animals will dictate the future success of the enterprise. To ensure future productive success, many considerations should be evaluated in terms of the liquid diet fed to young pre-weaned calves, especially when the liquid diet consists of whole or waste milk.

There are many topics to discuss when managing heifer inventory. Producers give careful thought to feed and labor costs, reproduction, semen strategies, etc. – the list can go on and on.

Conventional wisdom has told us we should house dairy calves individually to prevent nose-to-nose contact and control spread of disease. Calf hutches have been viewed as the “gold standard” for calf raising.

Scours – it’s an unwelcome but far too common problem on many dairies today. Thanks to education and development of new products, tremendous strides have been made in reducing the severity and number of calves lost due to the main causes of calf scours.

Dairy producers are working to raise both the optimal number and the highest-quality heifers for their operations. Developing replacement heifers is a significant and necessary expenditure for dairies, requiring an investment of $1,800 to $2,200 per head to get them to the start of first lactation.

Disbudding without pain control is painful! All methods work by removing or damaging horn-producing tissue, and all methods have been shown to cause pain when done without appropriate pain control.

First one there is the winner! It’s a race between antibodies in the colostrum and the bacteria in the environment. Who would you like to win?