University research continues to show that proper nutrition during the first 60 days of life positively impacts age at first calving, milk production and feed efficiency.

Raising calves has been a challenge for dairy farmers for decades. Most neonatal calves on today’s dairy farms are separated from their mothers at birth and usually fed less milk solids daily than they could consume if allowed to nurse their mothers.

Are your transition calves thriving? Are you noticing feed flicking? Are your calves kneeling to reach the feed? Facility design can play an important role in the success of your transition calf program.

While others breed for bigger cows and push for 2 pounds of average daily gain (ADG) for pre-weaned calves, Rosy-Lane Holsteins is sticking by what they believe in – healthy, productive cows regardless of how quickly they get there.

Heifers raised on pasture not only cost you less to raise, they are also healthier and give more milk, according to Jennifer Blazek, a dairy and livestock educator with the University of Wisconsin, and Adam Abel, an NRCS soil conservationist.

Editor’s note: This article is part one in a three-part series on evaluating your hygiene protocols. Visit 5 steps to perfect cleanliness to read part two and Are your calves secure? 7 ways to make it so to read part three. In this time of lower milk prices, every penny counts, and many producers have “hunkered down” and decided not to make any large investments this year.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to raising healthy dairy heifer calves. Strict hygiene of facilities and personnel is a must, as are:

Feeding water to nursery calves can often cause frustration for producers. Water intake by nursery calves is dynamic and has a degree of variability, making it a little difficult to judge how much water they will drink.

Thinking of feeding pasteurized waste milk to your calves? It can be an excellent choice, both nutritionally and economically. But on its own, pasteurized waste milk does not deliver the complete package necessary to feed all the calves in your herd to their greatest potential.

Over the last decade, research has consistently shown average daily gain (ADG) improves when milk or milk replacer is fed at rates providing more than 1.0 pounds of solids per day. Liquid feeding programs encouraging intakes greater than 2.0 pounds of solids per day have been promoted by several university research groups and feed companies in order to provide more “biologically appropriate” nutrition.