Last year’s cautious optimism has been replaced by financial concern and worry for many U.S. dairy farmers. Here’s Progressive Dairyman’s “State of Dairy” regional snapshots for early 2018.

A few weeks ago, I was talking with one of my dairy farmer friends. This dairyman is a well-respected and known leader in the dairy industry. He told me about participating in a recent meeting of agriculture leaders.

As the popular HBO television series Game of Thrones starts with an episode titled “Winter is Coming,” the phrase is often repeated and serves as a warning for the impending winter that threatens the seven kingdoms on the continent of Westeros.

Fat and fatty acid (FA) digestion and metabolism in dairy cattle is of considerable interest both to scientists and the dairy industry. The subject has received renewed interest for a number of reasons: First, we now recognize FAs can have specific and potent effects on ruminant digestion and metabolism.

This article is part one in a two-part series on pre-weaned heifer nutrition. Look for part two in a future issue. What is a quality calf-feeding program? For too long, the ideal calf-feeding program has been viewed as one that was low-cost and weaned calves as soon as possible.

Calves are naturally herd animals, but the transition period is often the first time they are grouped with others. This brings about a set of challenges that need specialized attention from calf managers.

Proper barn planning saves time and money. For every decision, it is important to understand its associated ramifications. In calf barns, housing style and pen configuration decisions impact ventilation options, which in turn affects the overall success of the barn.

Gone are the days of feeding calves 2 quarts of milk or milk replacer twice a day, but while feeding higher levels of nutrition is the new industry norm, there’s still room to improve.

Whether we’re talking about a kid with one 4-H calf or a calf ranch with tens of thousands of calves, the key questions about feeding calves are the same. How do you minimize cost of production? What composition of protein and fat milk replacer should we feed? How much should we feed each day? And for how many days should we feed milk?

Heifer raising is a major expense for the U.S. dairy industry, accounting for 15 to 20 percent of the total cost of milk production. Respiratory disease will significantly increase that cost, at up to $16.35 per pre-weaned calf and $2.22 for a weaned calf.