Heifer
Practical strategies can boost dewormer efficacy, minimize infection opportunity and put more pounds on calves.
OSU and KSU experts explain why restricting nutrients fails to prevent dystocia and how maintaining a BCS 6 ensures calf survival and colostrum quality.
How early heifer development sets the ceiling for fertility, productivity and profit.
When replacement heifers are limited, every pregnancy counts.
Many heifer intramammary infections begin months before calving, long before milking hygiene becomes relevant. Targeting prevention earlier can protect future milk production and improve overall herd health.
Economics suggest producers will keep cull rates low.
The ebb and flow of market factors require dairies to be nimble in their management strategies. Situation currently at hand: not enough heifers to meet typical demand. That’s why Wisconsin veterinarian Ryan Leiterman advises dairies to embrace their older cows.
Four beef cattle specialists share strategies to help producers decide when to wean calves.
Actionable data can help producers ensure heifers get off to their best start.
Producers should consider several factors to determine if creep feeding benefits them and evaluate based on the market each year.
The event is slated for July 22-24 in Rochester, N.Y., with an agenda focused on the theme of “Clearing Hurdles to Improve Milk Quality.”
Strategies for evaluating herd performance following calving.
Losses range between $15 and $88 per head, conservatively, a result of reduced herd productivity, health and reproductive efficiency.
The tiny, annoying pest can wreak $6 billion in losses annually to U.S. cattle production due to decreased weight gain or milk production, veterinary needs and control measures.
Implementing low-stress handling techniques while working cattle can save producers time, money, injury and headaches.
It is important that dairy industry stakeholders work together to further understand the complexity and underlying mechanisms of heat stress impacts and develop alternative strategies to mitigate the risks.
Research found negative implications on embryonic development and survival when heifers are transitioned to a reduced diet after AI breeding. This should be considered when transitioning heifers from dry lot to pasture, as this can cause changes in weight and composition.
It’s history in the making in U.S. dairy animal trade right now, as springer values stay knocking on the door of $4,000 per head.
Staph. aureus is being Confirmed More Frequently as the Culprit Contributing to Subclinical Mastitis
One researcher says of the 7,800 bulk tank milk samples her company tests annually, 45% of them are positive for the bacterium.
The first few hours of a calf’s life are critical to its success. Sometimes when producers need to intervene, the new mom goes into protection mode.
With heifer prices at record highs, raising replacements on-farm can be a money saver since 2024 costs are much lower than buying on the market.
An unprecedented shift in the U.S. dairy cattle population could signal uncertainty ahead in terms of milk production, cow numbers, and prices – for both the milk and the animals.
Monitoring heifer growth, and making management decisions based upon it, is proving to be an increasingly important practice to strike the delicate balance between economizing heifer development and breeding them at the correct stage to maximize their performance as mature cows.
While rare in most cowherds, retained placentas jeopardize reproductive efficiency and can rob operations of profit potential.
Any existing herd health problems are amplified by HPAI H5N1, practitioners report. Some are asking regulatory agencies for more consistent testing and reporting protocols. They are also encouraging producers to invest dollars in better nutrition and cow comfort resources.
Veterinarian Kirk Ramsey discusses ways to to prepare first-calf heifers to breed back.