It’s never too early to start planning for weaning. Several factors play a role in making weaning management decisions, such as drought, cow body condition, pasture conditions, weaning weight, calf sale contracts, labor and many others.

Successfully weaning and starting calves on feed can be a rewarding time of year for producers and sets the calf up for future performance. However, the most common time for a calf to contract BRD is within the first four weeks postweaning.

Calf prices look to be strong for the next few years as the national cow herd continues to bounce back from liquidations related to drought. These market conditions pose a great opportunity to increase profit potential through value-added programs.

In the ever-evolving landscape of calf rearing, maintaining a consistent approach is key to ensuring the health and productivity of your herd. Just as human babies thrive on routine, calves benefit from a structured feeding schedule and care regimen. 

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” While he was referring to strategy in the boxing ring, the same holds true for starting lightweight (sometimes called peewee) calves.

Calves are not just a cost; they are the investment in the future potential of your dairy herd. As the promising carriers of our best genetics, they represent the assurance of future profitability.

Crossbreeding isn’t a new technology. We’ve known about it and have been doing it for ages. Yet, crossbreeding remains a severely underutilized tool industrywide, with less than 50% of commercial operations using it meaningfully.

Learn how to manage forage inventories after harvest, improve average daily gain of calves and capitalize during times of tight farm margins.