Slideshow: North Florida Holsteins

When it comes to raising calves, Mohomed Elsheikh, DVM, feed department and calf manager at North Florida Holsteins, a 6,000-cow dairy in Bell, Florida, believes that proper management is the key to their success.

As a result of their focus on setting calves up for success through good nutrition, carefully followed sanitation protocols and employees who are able to specialize in a few specific areas of calf care, calves maintain a 2-pound average daily gain (ADG) from birth through day 80. Long term, heifers now reach 860 pounds by 11 or 12 months instead of 750 pounds like they were on the farm’s previous program, and the farm has seen, on average, a 300-pound increase in milk production in first-calf heifers on a dairy that has a 32,000-pound rolling herd average.  

Read more about North Florida Holsteins in this article, or take a look at their calf facilities in the slideshow below.  

Photos by Jenna Hurty-Person.