1.  2011 Calf-ETERIA Study Benchmarking Ontario dairy calf raising practices & Opportunities for Improvement 2012 Outdoor Farm Show Woodstock, ON

2. Calf-ETERIA  Using CALF health and productivity as a template for an Evaluation of Translation and Extension of Research Information for Agriculture

3. What is Calf-ETERIA ?  A University of Guelph-OMAFRA Knowledge Translation and Transfer funded project. Team Members:  Ken Leslie – Project Coordinator  Tom Wright – Project Co-Coordinator  Vivianne Bielmann – Project Manager  Trevor DeVries  Mario Mongeon  Brian Lang  Bill Grexton  Harold House  Mark Carson  Betty Summerhayes  Ian Rumbles

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

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

6. Expected Benefits and Impacts  IMPACTS  To change and improve specific aspects about the management of calves and heifers on Ontario dairy farms

7. Ontario Calf and Heifer Management Survey  Questions about calf and heifer management  From time of calving up until breeding age  Fairly long – 87 questions  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

11. Distribution of Herd Size

12. 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**

13. Time Spent on Calf Care Time SpentPercentage Less than or equal to 1 hour/day53.5% 1 – 2 hours/day42.4% 2 – 3 hours/day0.8% More than 3 hours/day3.3% **N=849**

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

15. 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

16. 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%

17. Amount of Colostrum Fed

18. 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)

19. Milk Feeding ** Often using a combination of both whole milk and either milk replacer or waste milk was indicated **

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

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

22. Water

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

24. Weaning Method

25. Weaning Age

26. Age at First Breeding

27. www.calf-eteria.com