1.  2011 Calf-ETERIA Study Benchmarking Ontario dairy calf and heifer raising practices Dairy Farmers of Ontario Dairy Research Communication Extension Event February 21, 2012

2. Presentation Outline  What is Calf-ETERIA?  About the project  Calf and Heifer Management Survey  Results  Next Steps

3. Calf-ETERIA  Using CALF health and productivity as a template for an Evaluation of Translation and Extension of Research Information for Agriculture  A University of Guelph-OMAFRA Knowledge Translation and Transfer funded project

4. Project Objectives  Benchmark current dairy calf and heifer management practices  Develop approaches to undertaking KTT initiatives to improve awareness and encourage adoption of, known optimal management techniques to increase economic performance and health  Evaluate and quantify both the animal health and economic performance subsequent to their initial benchmark  Disseminate case-study based benefits of optimal management systems to demonstrate both financial and animal health improvements to all Ontario dairy producers through producer meetings and web-based media

5. 3 KTT Approaches  Calf and Heifer management clubs  Including interaction with veterinarians  Web-based KTT for BMP’s for calves & heifers  Control Group

6. Benefits Ontario dairy producers from two key perspectives:  Economically – through reduced costs attributed to death losses, animal morbidity and associated treatment costs and reduction in compromised lifetime milk production losses, as a result of health problems encountered as a calf  Improved welfare of dairy calves and heifers - through increased survival rates and improved health-status Expected Benefits and Impacts

7. Benchmark current calf & heifer management  Ontario Calf and Heifer Management Survey  3,145 surveys were mailed out to dairy producers on DHI  The survey was also available online  921 surveys were completed and returned by mail  43 surveys were completed online  30% response

8. Status of Survey

10. Distribution of Herd Size

11. Calf Care WhoFrequency Owner352 Spouse86 Owner/Spouse66 Family Member90 Employee24 Multiple Individuals (combination of 2 or more of the above) 330 **N=948** **51.6% male, 21.5% female, 26.9% both**

12. Cost of Labour  Employee wages, for calf care, ranged from $5 /hour up to $25 /hour, depending on the farm

13. Where are Calves normally Born? LocationPercentage Individual Calving Pen31% Group Maternity Pen11.6% Dry Cow Pen7.8% Tie Stall/Free Stall7.9% Pasture (when applicable)29.6% Combination of 2 or more of the above40.2%

14. Video Surveillance Use  75 / 930 producers indicated that video surveillance is currently used to monitor cows in the calving area  Herd sizes of these 75 ranged from 28 cows up to 550 cows

15. Calving Assistance  On average, how often was assistance required during a calving, in the past year?  Never  0.4%  Less than 10%  27%  10 – 20%  41%  More than 20% of calvings  23.6%  Exact percentage  7.4%  Range: 1% - 98%

16. Disinfecting Navels  Is it routine practice to disinfect the navel of each newborn calf?  YES  38%  NO  62% http://www.progressivedairy.com/features/2007/0107/0107

17. Products administered shortly after Birth Treatment None490 (51.5%) Vitamin E/Selenium218 (23%) Vitamins A, D and E97 (10%) Oral Antibody or vaccine277 (29%) Iron26 (3%) Intranasal Viral Vaccine3 (0.3%) More than one of the above152 (16%) **N=950 N.B. – Percentages do not add up to 100%

18. Amount of Colostrum Fed

19. Colostrum Quality  How many producers are checking colostrum quality?  281/931  30%  How are they checking it?  Colour and/or consistency  72% (265/370)  Volume  19% (70/370)  Colostrometer  6% (23/370)  Refractometer  0.2% (1/370)  Laboratory  3% (11/370)

20. Milk Feeding

21.  How are calves being fed?  Bucket  37% (332/890)  Milk Bar  3% (22/890)  Nurse Bottle  29% (262/890)  Robot Milk Feeder  3% (27/890)  Other Free-Access feeding system  1% (12/890)  Combination of 2 or more  26% (235/890)

22. Milk Feeding  How much is being fed daily in Week 1?

23. Milk Feeding  How much is being fed daily in Week 4?

24. Water  At what age is fresh water offered to calves?  0 – 5 days  23% (215/920)  5 – 10 days  29% (268/920)  More than 10 days  30% (280/920)  Not until after weaning  17% (157/920)

25. Grain  At what age is grain/starter introduced to calves?  0 – 5 days  32% (299/940)  5 – 10 days  46% (430/940)  11 – 20 days  17% (162/940)  More than 20 days of age  5% (49/940)  Do calves have free-choice access to grain/starter?  87%  YES

26. Introduction of Hay  When are calves normally introduced to hay?  Less than 2 weeks of age  155  2 – 4 weeks of age  195  4 – 6 weeks of age  190  After weaning  20

27. Standard Operating Procedures  Are SOP’s used for routine calf management procedures?  Yes, all procedures  18% (167/912)  Yes, only disease and treatment info  13% (123/912)  No  68% (622/912)

28. Weaning Age

29. Vaccination  Are calves vaccinated for respiratory disease?  47 % are vaccinating calves against respiratory disease

30. Rations for Heifers  What type of ration are heifers fed?  Components  52% (455/868)  Top-dressed  22% (190/868)  TMR  26% (223/868)

31. Age at First Breeding

32. Cost of Raising a Heifer  How much does it cost?

33. Project Status  Management clubs and online modules are underway  Continue to collect data through the summer  DHI information  Follow-up questions

34. Thank You