One of the best ways to ensure a successful colostrum-management program is by testing colostrum on-farm and verifying passive transfer of immunity. It can be easy, affordable, and the health and productivity of our calves are worth the effort.

Colostrum is good for calves. It is the only way we transfer the cow’s immunity to the calf at birth. Having good-quality colostrum is why many dairies have gone to monitoring the quality of their colostrum to make sure they are providing their newborn calves with the highest-quality product they can.

Virtually every dairyman will tell you that the success of his operation is dependent on producing healthy, productive replacements. The nutrition and health management of newborn calves is a constant topic of concern, and every producer is looking for a cost-effective, magic combination of products and practices that result in healthy calves on a consistent basis.

I recently received an email from a veterinarian in an Asian country who just started working with a large commercial dairy. On this farm, at the time of the email, there were to be more than 500 calves born in the next three months, most of which were heifers (the farm uses sexed semen).

The Grober Young Animal Development Center (GYADC) has been working on various management and nutrition trials evaluating group housing since 2009. In 2011, our research evaluated unlimited daily milk allowance delivered and recorded via an automatic calf feeder.

The popular reproduction management strategies discussed during the 2013 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Joint Annual Meeting in July revolved around new variations on synchronization protocols and a new drug for superovulation.

Editor’s note: This is the third and final article in a series following a Wisconsin dairy farm through the Repro Money program, administered by University of Wisconsin Extension. As a reminder, names have been omitted to not disclose the identity of the farm.