Moving pre-weaned calves from their birth dairy to an off-site rearing facility is a common practice within the dairy industry. According to the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), most large operations (62.8%) sent dairy heifer replacements to an off-site rearing facility as pre-weaned calves. But moving these newborn calves presents unique challenges that may not be seen in the adult counterpart.
In collaboration with Colorado State University, UW-Madison Division of Extension Dairy Program Area seeks to learn the practices and challenges of transporting the pre-weaned calf in Wisconsin. Extension is conducting a research survey to describe current industry practices regarding the transportation of pre-weaned dairy heifer replacements, dairy bulls, and/or beef x dairy calves. The survey includes input from the source farm (owner or dairy producer, regardless of operation size), the transportation drivers, and the receiving operation (custom calf raiser, off-site calf rearing facilities, auction yards, steer raisers, etc.)
To participate in the survey, please visit and complete the 10–15-minute survey at http://go.wisc.edu/calftransportsurvey and use the password: Holstein23. The survey is voluntary and confidential. The information gained will help Extension better understand current industry practices for transporting calves on milk and if these practices differ for dairy replacement heifers, dairy bull calves, and beef x dairy calves.
If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact UW-Madison Extension Regional Dairy Educator Tina Kohlman at tina.kohlman@wisc.edu or Colorado State University Assistant Professor Catie Cramer at catie.cramer@colostate.edu.
