Calf & Heifer Adviser

MONDAY, March 8, 2010

subscribe | view as web page | dairyherd.com


			Welcome to Calf & 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.

NUTRITION NOTES

Options to replace NT
As a result of the new FDA regulations for medicated milk replacers that go into effect this year, many calf-raisers are looking for an option to replace the 2:1 combo of Neomycin and Oxytetracycline or NT. The answer may lie in fatty acid nutrition of calves, says Mark Hill, research nutritionist with Nurture Research, a part of Provimi North America (formerly Akey Nutrition and Research Center). Read more.

Feed to a higher plane of nutrition
There is a growing consensus that calves fed to a "higher plane of nutrition" are healthier than their conventionally fed counterparts. Read "Take her higher," from the March issue of Dairy Herd Management.

Milk replacers and nutrient digestion
There have been nutritional concerns about feeding young calves milk replacer solids of 0.9 kilograms (1.98 pounds) of dry matter or more due to slumps in average daily gain. New research by Nurture Research, a part of Provimi North America (formerly Akey Nutrition and Research), provides new insight to these concerns. Their research published in the March Journal of Dairy Science compared the digestion of nutrients in four milk-replacer programs. Read the study details.

More Nutrition Notes

MARKET MONITOR

Heifer prices drop
Heifer prices were lower in most recent auctions. Springer heifers topped out at $1,500 in Stratford, Wis., which was down $50 from last month. The top end price in New Holland, Pa., was $1,300, down $325 from the previous month. Heifer calf prices topped out at $260 in Stratford, Wis., compared to the high price of $300 the previous month, reports Greg Scheer, dairy analyst with Doane Advisory Services in St. Louis, Mo.

(See the table below)

	Springing heifers		Heifer calves
Location (sale date)	Supreme/top grade	Approved/medium grade	90-120 pounds
Turlock, Calif. (2/26/10)	$1,200-$1,400	$950-$1,175	NR
Stratford, Wis . (3/2/10)	$1,200-$1,500	$800-$1,100	$100-$260
Sulphur Springs, Texas (2/25/10)	$900-$1,350	$550-$850	$25-$140
New Holland, Pa. (3/3/10)	$1,100-$1,300	$900-$1,050	NR

More Market Monitor

HEALTH WATCH

Acidification of calf bedding may help control flies
Calf pens offer ideal breeding grounds for house and stable flies and are often target areas in fly-control plans. New research published in the March Journal of Dairy Science looks at using sodium bisulfate as a possible fly-control measure in calf housing. Read more.

Plan your pinkeye prevention program now
As pinkeye season approaches, it's time for dairy producers to take preventive steps to control this contagious, costly disease. Pinkeye can negatively impact the production and overall health of dairy animals. Use this three-pronged approach to prevent pinkeye.

Parasites can rob heifer growth
Before turning your heifers out to pasture this spring, you might consider deworming them. Parasites can have a severe impact on heifer growth and development. Learn more about parasites in dairy heifers, the need to deworm and timing of deworming.

5 ways to prevent pneumonia
The 2007 Dairy National Animal Health Monitoring Systems report identified pneumonia as being responsible for 24.5 percent of all pre-weaned calf deaths and 44.8 percent of all post-weaned calf deaths. These tips from David Wolfgang, Penn State University extension veterinarian, will help you prevent this disease.

More Health Watch

			MANAGER TO MANAGER
		Set goals and expectations for heifer raising What does a quality heifer look like? The answer to this question will vary depending upon who answers. One way to ensure that you are raising quality heifers is to set goals and expectations for raising calves. Learn more about the importance of goal-setting for calves. This article appears in the March issue of Dairy Herd Management. Get a jump on fly season Flies are a nuisance to animals and people; they can spread disease and reduce weight gain in calves and heifers. Use these tips to develop an integrated pest management strategy for fly control. Manage milk replacer mixing There are a number of areas that require intense management in order to raise healthy calves. An area that can get overlooked is the management of milk replacer mixing. Errors and/or inconsistency may lead to scours or abomasal bloat. Use these tips to trouble-shoot common mixing errors. More Manager to Manager

QUESTION of the MONTH

Do you have written goals for raising your calves and heifers?

Yes.
No.

Submit your answer here.

Web Poll responses will appear in the next edition of this newsletter.

Last issue's poll results:

To keep track of average daily gain rates, do you weigh animals individually or do you weigh as a group and assign the group average to each animal? (36 responses)

A) Weigh animals individually. (28%)

B) Weigh animals as a group and assign the group average. (19%)

C) Do not measure average daily gain. (53%)

			INDUSTRY CONNECTION
		Will you be at the Calf and Heifer Conference? The latest information on raising calves and heifers, along with the newest products and services to manage replacement animals, will be presented at this year's calf and heifer conference. The 2010 Dairy Calf and Heifer Association meeting will take place March 23-25 in Lexington, Ky. Read more. An inside look at heifer-raising Greg Goodell, veterinarian with The Dairy Authority in Greeley, Colo., shares management tips that he uses on his calf operation in the February issue of Bovine Veterinarian. Read how Goodell's operation tests for bovine viral diarrhea, its vaccination program, communication protocols with dairy owners and its nutrition program. Get an inside look at Goodell's operation. Do your calves get a gold star? New industry benchmarks for calf-raising are available. Use these guidelines to set goals for your calf-raising program. This article appears in the March issue of Dairy Herd Management. More Industry Connection