Great Starts Begin with Quality Calf Care « Back

Notebooks, paper, crayons, pencils, backpacks, clothes, shoes… the shopping list seems endless as parents and children get ready for the first day of the new school year. Just as parents make every effort to prepare children for a great start to the school year; great starts are also important for our third-generation dairy farm.

I have the daily responsibility to ensure the continuation of our dairy herd by providing consistent, quality calf care. Providing quality colostrum is the key to a great start for any newborn calf. Colostrum is the first milk produced by a dairy cow after birth, and contains natural disease fighting antibodies. A two-quart bottle of colostrum will be fed within two hours of birth to provide disease protection for a newborn calf. Once a cow gives birth, the calf is allowed to stay with the cow for eight to 12 hours. An average Holstein dairy cow produces seven gallons of milk per day. A baby calf needs only one gallon per day. Separating the calf from the mother is a protective measure by the farmer to prevent overfeeding and illness.

As the calf is made comfortable in its own individual hutch in the calf raising area, its mother will be moved to the milking herd where she will be milked twice a day, eat a nutritious diet, drink plenty of water and rest comfortably on pasture between each milking. Although this cow has joined the milking herd, her milk is collected separately and used only for calf feeding until tested and permitted to enter the milk supply.

The calf will be fed two quarts of milk twice daily from its mother for the first three days. All colostrum is checked for quality and any extra is frozen for feeding other newborn calves when needed. The ability to freeze good quality colostrum ensures a great start for every calf. Until the calf is weaned at eight weeks, it will continue to be fed two quarts of milk twice daily, offered a measured amount of grain, and observed closely.

Providing a great start is the beginning of healthy development and growth of our calves and dairy herd. I take great pride in calf care because that great start is the beginning of how we produce a nutritious dairy product for you!