Email the milk replacer specialist for your region.

It seems there are as many potential additives to calf diets as there are corn kernels in a bushel. But which ones really work, and are truly worth the investment?

An industry stalwart who values nutrition, calves, and people – in no particular order – is the defining moniker of Dan Catherman, President of Strauss Feeds.

When it comes to raising baby calves, there are some core fundamentals that absolutely need to happen in their first week after birth to ensure a healthy, productive lifetime.

There is a common misconception that the only way to achieve group housing of preweaned calves is to invest in a high cost autofeeder system. While autofeeder barns can work very well, I have experienced first-hand that you can also raise healthy, well-grown calves in group pens using bottles.

In the mission to raise healthy, productive, well-grown dairy calves, the rumen is the central command center that determines whether calves are ready to launch successfully through weaning.

It’s the beginning of a new chapter – and the departure of an industry icon – with the retirement of Strauss Feeds Technical Director Dale Bakke.