The past four years have been financially challenging for U.S. dairy farmers. That’s a relatively long time without a “good” year to give some relief.

When calves are fed twice a day and housed in individual pens or hutches, the morning feeder is greeted by loud bawling of calves anxiously awaiting their morning meal. It may have been more than 12 hours since their last meal of 2 quarts of milk or milk replacer.

Water – which makes up 86 percent of a newborn calf’s bodyweight – is the most important nutrient for dairy calves, but it is often overlooked.

Nobody would buy the cheapest lumber, hire the cheapest carpenters who use the cheapest tools but still expect to have the finest cabinetry built.

Raising replacement heifers is the second-highest cost to a dairy enterprise, making up nearly 20 percent of production costs. More than 15 percent of that total cost is incurred during the first two months of life, when milk replacer makes up a large portion of nutrient intake.

Raising crossbred calves for the beef market requires intensive management with a focus on calf health and nutrition. Getting calves off to a good start, and getting them to grow well, necessitates providing a low-stress environment and feeding for gain.

Raising replacement heifers is one of the largest investments made on a dairy. The costs associated with heifer raising can represent up to 20 percent of milk production costs, making this line item the second- or third-largest expense for an operation, after feed and possibly labor.

Have you ever been to a show and noticed those heifers that are in perfect shape? They are sharp and dairy, with no extra weight on them, yet they are not too thin.

Some things that happen on our farm are difficult to write about, especially what happened here recently. But in farming, like in life, things don’t always go nice. There are hard times and disappointments.

The song “Amazing Grace” has been on my mind lately. The image of Il Divo, a male quartet, singing the song at the Coliseum in Rome is etched in my memory.