From our side of the fence

Lisa Groetsch

Albany, Minnesota

Stearns County

260 cows

What is the newborn calf protocol on your farm? All baby calves are vaccinated with Nasalgen 3-PMH and Calf-Guard. Their navels are dipped, and they are moved to a Calf-Tel that is in our old parlor to warm and dry them. A calf jacket is put on when they are moved to our calf barn. We feed 3-5 quarts of colostrum for the first feeding and 2-3 quarts for the second feeding. Amounts are decided based on the aggressiveness and size of the calf. We continue to feed mom's milk for the third, fourth and fifth feedings.

In the winter, where do you house newborn calves? We house our calves for the first 12-24 hours in the parlor and Calf-Tel that is bedded with sawdust. They are moved in the mornings to our calf barn, where we have individual stalls we bed with straw. The automatic feeder pens are bedded with alternating straw and corn stalks, with sawdust being used around the feeder stalls to help with moisture and to have less bulky bedding in that area.

Tell us about your winter calf ration. They are fed three quarts of milk replacer twice a day from bottles until they are moved to our auto feeder at 10-14 days of age. Our auto feeder has two pens of up to 20 calves that are on milk. They receive 10 liters of milk a day for the winter months on the feeder.

What challenges do you encounter when raising calves in the winter? Our challenges are like most: keeping up with bedding so calves stay dry and clean, controlling scours and watching for pneumonia. We have standard operating procedures for anyone feeding calves, so they know what medicines to use for each event. Temping calves and watching for obvious respiratory signs for pneumonia and observing loose manure and checking for wet tails for scours are just some of the basics we use.

If a newborn calf becomes hypothermic, what is your warming procedure? Hypothermia can set in even if you think you are doing everything right. Making sure milk temps are between 102 and 106 when feeding replacer, as well as having warm water available twice a day and deep bedding, are what we try to do every day. If we have a calf that needs some extra warmth and calories, we use BlueLite. Getting a few extra pints of warmth in them seems to do a lot.

Tell us about your farm and plans for the coming year. Our plans for 2026 are to continue transitioning our son and daughter into the dairy and do some work on the feed storage pad and bunker area to give us more room for haylage.

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Shelby, Jordan, Jason and Maddison Weihrouch

Melrose, Wisconsin

Jackson County

40 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows

What is the newborn calf protocol on your farm? When calves are born, they are given two vaccines (Calf-Guard and Inforce 3) and a probiotic paste, and their navels are dipped with iodine. The calves are fed colostrum from their mother for at least three days. In the winter, all calves get calf blankets until they are about 1-2 months old.

In the winter, where do you house newborn calves? In 2025, we moved our calf housing from inside the tie stall barn into a lean-to shed attached to the barn. Calves were previously housed in box stalls in the tiestall barn. There, calves were often grouped together, and we struggled with calf health. Now, the calves are in the lean-to shed that is attached to the barn. Here, they are in individual 4- by 7-foot cattle panel pens bedded with corn stalks. The new pen location has provided more fresh air and less humidity for the calves, resulting in healthier calves.

Tell us about your winter calf ration. Our winter calf ration is very similar to the rest of the year. The calves are fed six quarts of whole milk a day, along with a 16% protein calf grower feed and fresh water daily. Calves are not given hay until they are about 1-2 months of age, depending on how well they eat grain.

What challenges do you encounter when raising calves in the winter? The biggest challenge for us would be keeping temperatures as regulated as possible while still providing fresh air. Moving our calves into the lean-to shed has helped greatly because they get a lot of fresh air through windows while still being inside. Keeping the calves dry and comfortable can also be a challenge. We have noticed that corn stalks seem to stay cleaner longer than straw or shavings.

If a newborn calf becomes hypothermic, what is your warming procedure? If a calf ias found hypothermic, the first thing we do is place the calf into warm water inside a wheelbarrow to bring the body temperature up as quickly as possible. Then, the calf is dried off with towels and given the above newborn protocol. We try to keep calves that are stressed inside the barn for a day or two just so they stay warmer. We also try to feed them milk up to three or four times a day.

Tell us about your farm and plans for the coming year. Our farm, Eachibon Swiss and Mahoney-East Holsteins, has about 40 milk cows and roughly 50 heifers. We milk in a tiestall barn, and the cows are fed corn silage, hay silage, corn and protein. We farm about 120 acres of land and rent additional land. The crops we grow are hay, corn and oats (for grain and straw). In the fall of 2025, we put CowManager ear tags in the cows and heifers over 1 year old and are already happy with the results. In 2026, we are hoping to invest in a newer used tractor and adopt small changes that will continue to make improvements on our farm.

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John Bigham Jr.

Abbotsford,

Wisconsin

Marathon County

40 cows

What is the newborn calf protocol on your farm? As soon as calves are born, I give them a Calf-Guard vaccine and First Defense bolus. My farm has had a history of rotavirus, so prevention is very important to prevent scours. After vaccinating, I let the calf suck on the cow for 12 hours before separating. At that time, I will also give them two quarts of colostrum.

In the winter, where do you house newborn calves? All my calves are housed in the tiestall barn. They are in pens bedded with sawdust.

Tell us about your winter calf ration. Most of my calves nurse on their dam. I will leave a quarter unmilked during milking and then let the calf loose to suck on its dam twice a day. If a calf is not able to suck on its dam for various reasons, I will give them a bottle, but I prefer to leave them on the cow. In addition to milk, calves have access to free-choice grain as well as hay.

What challenges do you encounter when raising calves in the winter? I find raising calves in the winter to be easier than the summer. The humidity is lower, air quality is better and it is easier to keep the pen dry. Scours is my only challenge, and prevention is key.

If a newborn calf becomes hypothermic, what is your warming procedure? I tube them with warm colostrum and, if necessary, I put them in a warm water bath. I have also been known to bring cold calves in the house.

Tell us about your farm and plans for the coming year. I am a certified organic dairy shipping to Organic Valley. The last couple of years, I have had a lot of heifer calves and have raised them all. I have a large group that will be coming fresh this summer, and I’m planning to milk a few more cows this year, as organic milk is in high demand and the milk price has been going up consistently over the last couple of years.

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Matt Yorek (pictured with his wife, Aimmee)

Yorek Dairy

Little Falls, Minnesota

Morrison County

975 cows

What is the newborn calf protocol on your farm? The newborn protocol on our farm is to feed calves 1 gallon of colostrum within six hours of birth, dip the naval with iodine, and shave and dehorn with paste. New calves are moved shortly after birth to a warm room that is bedded with straw. They are then moved to outdoor hutches once they are dry and fed.

In the winter, where do you house newborn calves? Calves are housed year-round in hutches bedded with deep straw in winter and sand in the warmer months.

Tell us about your winter calf ration. Our winter calf ration is 3 quarts of pasteurized milk twice a day, increased as the calf gets older, along with a starter grain.

What challenges do you encounter when raising calves in the winter? The main challenges we face in the winter months are big temperature swings with wet foggy air and, of course, sub-zero temps. Our main way of dealing with those problems is frequent bedding with dry straw, as well as calf coats sometimes.

If a newborn calf becomes hypothermic, what is your warming procedure? If a new calf starts to look hypothermic, or just doesn't look right in general, I usually treat them with electrolytes to keep them hydrated and give them some fresh bedding, which usually solves any problems. If it doesn't, I will put a coat on them.

Tell us about your farm and plans for the coming year. Our farm is a third-generation dairy farm with about 1,400 acres of cropland. My dad, Frank; my uncle, Jerry; and my brother, Tim and two cousins, Adam and Job; are the owners and operators of the farm. We ship our milk to the First District Association. Our current plans for this year are to ride out the price swings as they come and increase production efficiencies.

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Minnie and Randy  Ward (pictured with Riley)

Fallen Oaks Custom Calves

St. Charles, Minnesota

Winona County

Number of cows: We raise roughly 800-1,000 youngstock a year.

What is the newborn calf protocol on your farm? As a custom grower, we get calves anywhere between 12 hours to 7 days old, so the most important part of the calf's start is behind us. We have no control over colostrum or vaccination programs. On arrival, we assess their behavior, and everyone gets a Nasalgen 3-PMH along with a Lactipro bolus. It is very simple yet effective for us.

In the winter, where do you house newborn calves? We built a tunnel-ventilated barn three years ago, which houses 100 calves on milk. They are introduced to the auto feeder on arrival. Based on the assessment, some calves may be bottle fed for a few days until their vigor is more pronounced. Calves are group housed in pens of 25-30. At a month of age, we open up two pens and group 50 calves. At that point, they can go between both pens. We installed an ammonia detector, which monitors any bad air coming from the bedding pack. That is how we determined our once every three weeks clean out. We bed with straw with a base of shavings. The bedding schedule is based on assessment of the bedding pack.

Tell us about your winter calf ration. We feed a 24/20 all milk, milk replacer, which we target at 13% solids nine months of the year. In winter months, we do increase solids to 13.5%. Our calves have access to their milk diet four times per day: smaller meals, more frequently. It takes our calves about 3-5 days to figure the auto feeder out. We run a 95%-99% completion rate on milk consumption weekly. Volume of milk fed stays the same. Calves have access to free-choice water 24/7, which helps as well. I am a huge supporter of electrolytes, which we add to their milk diet once a day. This helps reduce treatment rates and increases grain consumption. We feed electrolytes year-round. Our grain mix is a 20% textured starter that stays the same year-round as well.

What challenges do you encounter when raising calves in the winter? Weather is tough on calves; their caloric needs increase under 50 degrees, and it is hard to maintain core body temperature for them. If they have a health event, it is tougher on them in the winter to overcome. We bed deeper and more frequently, calves get calf jackets on arrival and we try to keep those jackets on until roughly a month of age or, if possible, beyond. My rule of thumb is that, when we start wearing hoodies consecutively for a week, calves start getting calf jackets put on. We also don't play the game of taking them off on nice days and putting them back on for colder days; they stay on. We do have some Houdinis that try to escape them, but for those calves, I duct tape the jacket on.

      When we had hutches, water consumption in the winter was the hardest. We tried offering another feeding to aid in water consumption and fed water directly behind the milk taxi; now, with the barn, it is a non-issue. Water is warm in the waterers, and they have access 24/7.

If a newborn calf becomes hypothermic, what is your warming procedure? If a calf becomes hypothermic, our goal is to maintain their hydration level with both electrolytes and IV along with bringing them into our warm area of the barn. I believe this increases their body temperature as it also helps with the circulation of blood flow. We have a special hutch devoted to sick or down calves. I also have a "hydration cocktail" that I use on calves I identify as non-thrifty. Typically, I only have to administer it once, but some really tough calves may need up to three doses. I do not take calves off milk; I offer it. Anything consumed is a win; beyond that, it is hydration and treatments if warranted.

Tell us about your farm and plans for the coming year. We, Minnie, Randy and Hanna, custom raise calves/youngstock from babies to 500 pounds. Both my husband and I have off-farm jobs within the agriculture community. Our youngest daughter, Hanna, is a senior at Winona State University, and she is a tremendous support for us. Our goals are to always do what is right for the animal, become more efficient and always enjoy what we do.

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