The practice of raising young stock off-site has grown among large dairies over the years. In 2014, 62.8% of large operations sent replacement heifers to an off-site raising facility as pre-weaned calves, according to a USDA report.

Reproductive performance is an important driver of dairy farm profitability and can be impacted by several diseases that occur during the dry period, including mastitis. Mastitis is associated with lost milk production, added treatment costs, inferior milk quality, decreases in reproductive efficiency, early herd removal and/or death.