November update

Posted November 16, 2008

Spring calving herds have weaned most of their calves by now. After heifers are put onto pasture is often the time that they go backwards, so in the resources section we have added an article on pasture feeding heifers and also on how to calculate growth rates necessary to achieve target mating and calving weights.

In many areas it looks as if it might be a tight season; this means that heifers may have to be supplemented more heavily than normal because the nutrient value of the pasture is insufficient to support ideal daily growth rates.

For calf raisers working with autumn calving herds we have just added more information to the resources page which may be useful in the care of baby calves.

Lucky Sam is able to attend the American Dairy Science Association Discovery Conference titled “Biology of the Calf: Birth to 4 Months” This is a one-off event designed to better define needs in calf research for the coming decade. It will be held in Roanoke, Virginia. We will post a report of this conference on the website when he returns. The programme is fascinating and the list of speakers is dominated by world class industry leaders, such as Dr. Sheila McGuirk, Dr. James D. Quigley III, Dr. Ken Leslie, Dr. Mike Van Amburgh & Dr. Jim Drackley, just to single out a few.

The papers cover a wide range of topics relating to the young calf and her later function in life. Some of the subjects being discussed are:

  • Role of maternally derived WBC’s, passed in the colostrum, on immune function presented by Dr. David Hurley – Univ. of Georgia
  • Current state of nutrient requirements for growth, development of the digestive system and immune function. – Dr. Mike Van Amburgh, Cornell Univ.
  • Impact of the nutrient status of the dam on development of the calf. Foetal development and long term function of the calf. - Dr. Jim Drackley – Univ. of Illinois
  • Pain and disease – Dr. Ken Leslie – University of Guelph
  • Practical approaches to vaccination the calf - vaccinating in the face of maternal antibody. Dr. Amelia Woolums – University of Georgia
  • Impact of nutrition on mammary development – Dr. R. Michael Akers – Va. Tech

All the topics are relevant to calf survival and future productivity and I am sure it will be a very interesting few days.