Dairy Producers Banquet is Thursday, December 11 starting at 9:30am.   Speakers are Dr. Kirby Krogstat, our new OSU extension educator, presenting “Monitoring Nutrition, Old Classics and New Technology” and “Controlling Mastitis at the Feed Bunk”.  I’ve heard him speak 4 times and every time was very well presented.  Dr. Brittney Davidson is a recent Ph. D graduate from the University of Wisconsin presenting; Consequences of Heat Stress in Dry Pregnant Cows, Growing Heifers, and Post Weaning Dairy Calves.  We’ve known about this science for 5 years, now it is time to get it done and capitalize on the opportunities.  There are so many returns to heat abatement that we need to do this well.

Cooling Evaluation This summer tested whether we were adequate at cooling cows and only few were.  If your production dropped by more than 5 pounds, preg rate dropped by more than 5 percent, or lameness increased by more than 20% from March to September, we need a cooling plan.  Limitations could be eliminated this winter so we can put in more fans and sprinklers next March.  Limitations include not enough water, not enough electricity, and no outlet for increased waste water.  It takes awhile to get these things done and the inconvenience of working in barn traffic may be better tolerated when you don’t have crops to care for.  If you were up to date with this 10 years ago, you are 10 years behind.

NO 7 day Cosynch but 5 day is just fine  Two articles in Hoard’s Dairyman saying “Stop doing Cosynch” sent me back to the literature because our 5 day Cosynch herds do pretty well.  There isn’t much there.  We usually do not use 5 day Cosynch for first service but you could.  More commonly, it is used for resynchronization.  So on a Wednesday herdcheck, you would give GnRH to open cows, the following Monday and Tuesday give prostaglandin, Thursday: Breed and give GnRH.  All activities are at the same time of day.  5 day Cosynch increases pregnancy/AI by 6% because you are breeding a younger follicle compared to 7 day Cosynch. What I really looked for was a comparison of Ovsynch 72 to 5 day CoSynch.  It does not exist. 5 Day Cosynch is one of the four synchronization protocols recommended by DCRC. 

Vaccination Reviews We like to evaluate vaccination programs each winter and your herd health veterinarian has a copy of your program in their truck.  The last year gives us reason for significant changes in these programs.  Historically, we started with the basics (Virals, lepto, and clostridium) and added vaccines as a farm found that they needed them.  You can continue that approach if you want, but the herds with significant herd outbreaks, found them to be mentally and financially challenging.  Some suggested changes:

Pyramid adjuvanted modified live IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV, 5 way lepto that penetrates maternal antibody to create active immunity in 30 day and older.  We can eliminate the BVD protection gap that exists when we wait for all calves to be immunized by Bovishield or Titanium which happens at 6 to 7 months with excellent colostrum management.

Prime boost increased immunity effect of presenting antigens in a different way.  Virashield in late lactation after Bovashield or Titanium early.  We still have some herds on whole herd MLV programs and that works to have the whole herd on the same level of immunity.  This is the simplest but some animals are not at the best stage to be immunized could result in pregnancy loss.

Nuplura or Once PMH vaccination for every herd to avoid 5-10% death loss in a week  in lactating cows.

Western Ohio Dairy Lunch starts Nov 13 at 1130 at Southside Restaurant (lower level) in Coldwater.  Lunch is provided.  The speaker begins at Noon & the topic is Fly Control and Disease Prevention.  Other dates are Dec 18: Dairy Tech, Jan 8: Calf Nutrition, Feb 12: Calf housing Individual vs. Group, Mar 12: Beef on Dairy.

Preparing Calves for Winter  Dr. Buatois

With heat stress behind us and the winter months quickly approaching, it is time to discuss cold stress and management strategies for calves this winter.  Adult cattle are relatively resistant to cold stress, but this is not the case for the young calves and heifers on the farm.  Cold stress has significant economic impacts including increased disease morbidity and mortality, reduced growth rate, delayed age at first calving and reduced lifetime milk production. 

The Lower Critical Temperature (LCT) is the temperature at which a calf must start burning fat to maintain a normal core body temperature.  As calves grow older and build up more reserves the LCT lowers.  For newborns with very little fat reserve the LCT is about 56 degrees and drops to about 43 degrees by 30 days of age.  When calves must expend additional energy to maintain their body temperature, they have less resources to support growth and immunity, leading to poor health outcomes.

Housing and bedding are crucial first steps in limiting cold stress.  Newborn calves should be dried off quickly and moved to a pen with deep, dry bedding.  Calf pens should be bedded deep with straw, allowing nesting behaviors.  Calves should have a nesting score of 3, with their legs completely covered by bedding.  Bedding should be checked frequently for excess moisture.  A wet calf is a cold calf.
 

When used appropriately, calf jackets can be a useful tool for keeping calves warm as well. Jackets are recommended for any calf under 3 weeks of age when the ground is frozen.  Another good rule of thumb is to jacket calves if the high and low temperature for the day adds up to 90 degrees or less.  Jackets should be checked frequently to make sure they stay clean and dry and are being adjusted to fit the calf as it grows.  Additionally, jackets may need to be removed during the day if the temperature is high enough to cause sweating under the jacket.  The jacket traps moisture and causes significant cold stress at night.

Calf feed and water requirements change during the winter months as well.  As temperatures drop, energy needs increase in order to maintain weight and support growth.  A general rule of thumb is that for every 10 degrees below 32, calves need 10% more milk.  The easiest ways to do this are to add one additional feeding (i.e. 3 feedings instead of 2) or increase the amount at each feeding.  A bottle of warm water should be offered at each feeding as it encourages starter consumption, further meeting energy needs.

Ventilation in the winter is key to preventing outbreaks of respiratory disease but can be tricky.  The goal is to keep air moving without creating drafts.  Air movement is needed to prevent condensation and humidity and remove ammonia.  Calf barns should have a minimum of 4 air exchanges per hour to maintain good air quality.  Positive pressure tube ventilation is an excellent way to provide fresh air throughout the barn without creating drafts.

Developing your management strategies now will promote calf welfare and long-term profitability for your herd this winter.