This column brings you information regarding some of the research being done around the world and published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Properly storing, handling and mixing milk replacer not only helps the product retain its quality, it also ensures calves are consistently fed. Although it seems that mixing powder and water is simple, many issues can occur that impact both powder quality and animal performance.

Summer is upon us, and with the warm weather moving in, it’s a good time to remember that proper watering is one of the most important aspects of maintaining cattle productivity. With so many ways to provide water to your cattle, it can be overwhelming to weigh the pros and cons of each, but when it comes to seasonal changes, it’s obvious why an automatic waterer is one of the smartest choices.

As cheese production and consumption has grown over the last 20-plus years, so has the production of whey. In the early years of cheese-making, whey was considered a waste product that needed to be disposed of.

Understanding the link between nutrition, healthy claws and production Inadequate nutrition during the rearing period may result in heifers of insufficient size at breeding, delayed ovulation, delayed first breeding and extended time to entrance into the lactating herd as a first-calf heifer.

Nutrition of dairy heifers is often talked about as a whole without referring to the age and growth stage of the heifer. Even though there is a lot of focus placed on feeding milk-fed calves, little research information is available regarding the best strategies for feeding post-weaned dairy heifers.

Dairy calves are extremely susceptible to gastrointestinal disease during the pre-weaned period. The risk for enteric disease decreases as the calf ages. When a calf is born, it has been exposed to very few if any micro-organisms, and some aspects of its gastrointestinal immune system are not fully developed.

There has been a lot written about how feeding more milk replacer will improve the immune system and health of baby calves. Several laboratories have compared feeding calves conventional milk replacers at approximately 1 pound of solids daily to higher levels of nutrition. Higher levels of nutrition were frequently milk replacers that are approximately 28 percent protein fed at approximately 2 pounds of solids daily.

There are probably as many ways to raise dairy replacements as there are people raising dairy replacements. Most of these methods are successful; however, everyone knows that some are more successful than others. At the most recent ADSA meetings in Denver last summer, we presented an evaluation of data we have collected to determine what impacts growth of neonatal calves through eight weeks old.