We were determined to try our best and put in extra effort to give this calf the best chance of survival possible. Although every farm might have their own premature calf protocol, I will share ours that successfully worked.

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

Giving calves a good start can be expensive. However, not investing in your calf operation can cost you in the parlor. Too many dairies chase after pennies of efficiency on the cow side but trip over dollars of missed opportunities in their calf program.

While failures of the immune system are often seen, little is taken into account of what the immune system requires and if it is getting what it needs from the digestive system of the animal.

In the realm of beef-on-dairy calves, the presence of beef genetics imparts inherent advantages, promising greater consistency and robust muscling when compared to their all-dairy breed counterparts. 

Raising dairy-beef crossbred calves is a value-added production strategy that is here to stay, and dairy producers have a tremendous opportunity to influence the success of their crossbred program through early-life nutrition.

Due to improvements in reproductive efficiencies, dairies can now be more selective in raising future herd replacements. This elevates the importance of reducing preventable diseases such as scours or diarrhea in newborn calves.

Beef-on-dairy calves are an investment. These calves should be treated just as well as a heifer calf that will be raised for the dairy. A poor-quality, unhealthy calf not only hurts your bottom line, it also jeopardizes your reputation as a quality calf supplier.