The first two months of a calf’s life can be challenging due to high risk of scours and respiratory disease – but this time is also one of opportunity because calves have the potential to grow very efficiently. While getting calves off to a good start is labor-intensive and can be frustrating at times, recent research has shown that keeping calves healthy and growing not only benefits the calf in the short term but can have long-term impacts on the productivity (and ultimately profitability) of the animal once it reaches the lactating herd.