Monday, April 9, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 7  

Corn-price decline should support heifer demand
USDA’s “Prospective Plantings” report at the end of March brought good news to dairy producers. Corn-planting intentions were estimated to be up 15 percent from last year and the highest since 1944. Cash-corn prices have dropped about 40 cents per bushel since the report was issued — and nearly 90 cents since late February, says Greg Scheer, dairy analyst at Doane Advisory Services in St. Louis. Rising milk prices and moderating feed costs should improve dairy profitability in the near-term, thereby keeping demand for replacement heifers strong.


Welcome to the April 9 edition of Calf and Heifer Adviser, published by Dairy Herd Management® magazine.

Calf and Heifer Adviser and its core sponsors are committed to providing you with the information you need to make informed and timely business decisions.

Land 'O Lakes


Heifer age key to conception rate
 A national review of 362,512 heifers by USDA researchers shows that Holstein heifers have a 57 percent average conception rate. The researchers also confirmed that heifer age is a critical factor in getting heifers bred. They say conception rates are maximized in heifers between 15 and 16 months old. For more details, go to www.dairyherd.com.

Minimize the effects of dystocia
A difficult birth may have a far-reaching impact on calf health and survival. According to research in the April Journal of Dairy Science, the occurrence of dystocia on three Colorado dairies was “strongly associated” with higher death loss and more health problems among heifer calves — even after weaning. For more details, go to www.dairyherd.com.


Improve calving managementElanco Rumensin
The dystocia study mentioned above also reveals a need for better management around the time of calving to reduce stillbirths. During the study, 24.5 percent of stillbirths were associated with an unassisted birth. Calves born dead, or that died within 24 hours of birth, were recorded as stillborn. More emphasis needs to be placed on the frequency of visual observation of cows in the calving pen and intervention methods during a difficult delivery, say the study’s authors. Assess how you can improve these two areas on your operation.

Nipple color indicates type of colostrum
At Galeton Dairy, Galeton, Colo., all calves receive colostrum — even bulls. All colostrum is tested with a colostrometer. If it scores green, it is pasteurized and then stored in the refrigerator in bottles ready to feed. Cow colostrum, which is reserved for heifer calves, is stored in bottles with a red nipple. Colostrum from first-calf-heifers is fed to bulls and stored in bottles with a black nipple. This way, employees know at a glance which bottle of colostrum to grab and feed to a newborn. And if they have more than one newborn to feed, the bottles don’t get mixed up on the way to the newborn area.

Clips signify type of colostrum
Colostrum that tests green with a colostrometer is pasteurized in a 10-gallon batch pasteurizer at Galeton Dairy in Colorado. However, cow colostrum and heifer colostrum are kept separate. Since several employees work in the maternity and newborn calf-care areas, they attach a colored clothespin to the pasteurizer to signify if cow colostrum or heifer colostrum is in the pasteurizer. That way, no matter which employee is in the milk-prep room when the batch is done running, he knows how to bottle and mark the colostrum. (See the related tip above.) A red clothespin signifies heifer colostrum; a blue one means cow colostrum.

Calm handling leads to calm cows
Horses and four-wheelers are not used to manage or work cattle at The Heifer Authority in Carr, Colo.
    "If you want to have calm cows that are not scared of people, you need to start by raising calm heifers," explains Greg Goodell, veterinarian and co-owner of the contract-heifer-raising facility. Calm cows are easier to manage and are usually more productive, he adds.
    Heifer manager Seth Sommerville and employees at the facility walk the pens daily to check animal health, chalk tails, look for heats and assess overall animal well-being. When you use horses and four-wheelers to check pens or work cattle, heifers get nervous and try to outrun the horse or four-wheeler. But when you walk among the heifers each day, they learn not to fear people. Instead of running, they come up to see what you are doing. And that, Goodell says, leads to calm cows that are used to being around and cared for by people.

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