Heifers are the future of your herd. How they are fed and cared for today will directly influence breeding age, health and profitability. The Heifer Resource Center includes articles focusing on key areas for raising heifers and provides links to Web sites that focus directly on heifer nutrition, health and care. Please browse the center and let us know what we can do to further improve it. Send comments to tquaife@food360.com.

Latest Postings:

Heifer nutrition and growth rates (Nutrition/Feeding and Reproduction/Breeding)
One calf grower shares his advice.

Get a handle on heifer mastitis (Health)
Find out what is causing mastitis infections to appear within days of calving.

More bang for your labor buck (Employee Relations; Management)
A “rainy day list” can ensure employee productivity during down time and/or inclement weather.

Stars, workhorses and dead wood (Employee Relations; Management)
Time to take stock of your workforce.

How does your calf housing stack up? (Management; Health)
Results from new calf housing research indicates that calves housed in poly hutches bedded with sand could have an increased chance of respiratory infection due to airborne bacteria concentrations.

Don't fall into this sanitation gap (Management; Health)
Use disinfectants property and try to avoid situations that can lead to resistance among disease organisms.

Fridge health = calf health (Management; Health)
Only 3 out of 10 fridges reliably kept the temperature needed for proper storage of animal health products.

Do preconditioning programs work for dairy heifers? (Nutrition/Feeding)
It may be time to take a lesson from the beef industry.

Make the most of vaccinations (Health)
Vaccines are a powerful tool in the disease prevention toolbox, but their effectiveness depends a lot on how and when they are used. Use these tips to get the most out of vaccines.

Be proactive when it comes to disease management (Health)
Improve the health of your calves.