Calves & Heifers

Cold temperatures are here and winter is quickly approaching. As the temperatures drop, calf barns are closed up and the ventilation rates are turned down. As an industry we do this reflexively, but is it what's best for the calves?

We might not want to admit it, but winter will be here before we know it. And for most of the country, this means plunging temperatures, bringing cold stress and increased maintenance needs for young calves.

It’s official – summer is heading out, and fall is around the corner. With harvest, taking kids back to school, daily chores and a million other things, planning for winter calf housing might not be top of mind. However, making winter prep a priority will ensure you and your calves are ready to handle cold weather challenges.

In this day and age, producers are great at making heifers. Reproductive and calf raising management practices have dramatically improved through the years, resulting in an abundance of replacement heifers. The benefit of that is we have plenty of animals to keep operations full and have the genetically best heifers possible.

As animal welfare issues continue to become more prominent, automatic comfort brushes for calves are becoming a necessary tool for farmers to improve calf comfort and well-being.

The advent of genomics and recent research on the long-term impact of the pre-weaning phase have helped put calf management in the limelight. And calf facilities have seen major improvements as a result.