Name: Crystal Creek
Address: 1600 Roundhouse Road, Spooner, WI, 54801, US
Telephone: 1-888-376-6777
Price range: $

Shop online or call 1-888-376-6777 to place an order.

Straw The Counterproductive Ingredient In Dry Cow Rations

Click here to view as a pdf: Straw The Counterproductive Ingredient In Dry Cow Rations

By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

The Dry Cow Diet

The dry cow diet is arguably the most important ration on the dairy farm; setting the stage for a successful lactation. Cows that freshen with metabolic problems of ketosis, milk fever or a displaced abomasum cost time and money to treat; often preventing the cow from reaching her full potential for that lactation. The goal of the dry cow diet is to limit these metabolic issues and support optimal health and rumen function going into lactation. Dry cow diets should be balanced with the following guidelines in mind:

Ask The Vet / Ask The Nutritionist

Click here to view as a pdf: Ask The Vet Ask The Nutritionist

“I would like to test some feed stuffs with Dairyland Labs. Which test package do you recommend?”

-Wondering in Wisconsin-

Crystal Creek® recommends the Select Package. The Select Package (listed as N7 NIR Select on the Dairyland Labs Submission form) is recommended over the Basic Package because its analysis offers an evaluation of ash, TDN and NE values, where the Basic Package does not. Crystal Creek® considers these values essential for balancing a ration.

A Poultry Success Story

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By Stephanie Hutsko, PhD

Crystal Creek® has many customer success stories, one of which belongs to an organic family farm in upstate New York. This producer started on the Crystal Creek® Poultry Program approximately three years ago and currently has 9,913 brown layers. The birds were brought in as pullets at 18 weeks of age and are housed in an unheated, open barn with 15ft peaked roofs and curtain side walls. They are allowed access to the outdoor pasture at least one day every two weeks in the winter months, as is required for his free-range market. Feeding occurs once per day, by hand, and barn walkthroughs are performed about 10 times throughout the day to monitor floor eggs and bird health. Birds are weighed weekly and feed intakes are closely monitored. There are electric lights that are used to supplement the natural daylight to give the birds at least 16 hours of light.

Interpreting Key Values Of A Forage Test

Click here to view as a pdf: Interpreting Key Values Of A ForageTest

By Alex Austin, B.S.

Forage testing gives great insight into the quality and value of feedstuffs. Testing allows for a better understanding of the forage value, whether feeding it out or looking to sell. Understanding key feed test values can give a producer insight on how their current agronomy, harvesting and storage management plan is working.

Electrolyte Use

Click here to view as a pdf: Electrolyte Use

By Kelly Hubert, B.S.

Electrolytes are an important tool to use when supporting scouring and dehydrated calves. Scours are the leading cause of death in young calves, primarily because scours cause calves to rapidly dehydrate. It is important to monitor calves daily and treat them quickly when needed. A calf needs to receive 10% of its body weight in fluids each day for maintenance, while a growing calf will require even more¹.

Pictured are Dan Leiterman, CEO (3rd from left) and Dr. Ryan Leiterman, Director of Technical Services (4th from left).

Crystal Creek^® was recently recognized as Washburn County’s “Most Innovative Business of the Year” at the 2018 Washburn County Economic Development Corporation’s annual banquet. The event is held to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of businesses working together in Washburn County. This year’s banquet was held at The Reel Em Inn, in Sarona, WI.

Click here to view as a pdf: Washburn County Economic Development Corporation Innovative Business of the Year

Crystal Creek® to host Breakfast & Birds Poultry Seminar

Crystal Creek® is pleased to announce their upcoming Poultry Seminar on Saturday, April 7th, 2018. Call 1-888-376-6777 to reserve your spot for this special event. A Continental Breakfast and registration will occur from 9:00-9:30 a.m. The seminar will begin at 9:30 with Dr. Ryan Leiterman presenting information on poultry nutrition and sanitation. A producer led discussion panel will follow where experienced, local poultry raisers will share their knowledge and expertise on poultry production.

Click here to view as a pdf: 2018-04-07 Breakfast And Birds POULTRY SEMINAR MEETING FLYER

Jessica Getschel, Ventilation Specialist, Contributes to Progressive Dairyman

Crystal Creek® is proud to present Jessica Getschel and Dr. Ryan Leiterman’s recent article published in the Progressive Dairyman Magazine.

Progressive Dairyman will be featuring three of Jessica Getschel’s articles on calf barn ventilation this year. Jessica is a livestock nutritionist and ventilation specialist at Crystal Creek® and holds a bachelor of science degree from University Wisconsin Madison in Dairy Science and Microbiology.

ARTICLE #1

Key Design Features To Consider Before Building A New Calf Barn

Click here to view as a pdf: Key design features to consider before building a new calf barn

By Jessica Getschel, B.S.

Proper barn planning saves time and money. For every decision, it is important to understand its associated ramifications. In calf barns, housing style and pen configuration decisions impact ventilation options, which in turn affects the overall success of the barn. Before building a calf barn, think about the ventilation requirements for every season. Allocate at least 10 percent of the overall building cost for the purchase of a well thought out ventilation system and ask these three questions as you consider your ventilation options:

Will the system deliver a consistent source of fresh air into the barn during all seasons?
Will the system effectively control the airspeed at calf level?
Can the ventilation system rapidly adjust to the changing weather conditions of spring and fall when there are warm days and cool nights?

April 2018 Newsletter

Click here to view as a pdf: 2018 April Newsletter Updated

Preventative Nutrition: A New Way To Look At Feeding Your Dog

Click here to view as a pdf: Preventative Nutrition New Way To Look At Feeding Your Dog

By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

When I went to veterinary school thirteen years ago, part of our curriculum focused on what was at the time, a relatively new concept: medical nutrition; specialized dog and cat foods created for companion animals that had specific diseases. Some foods were formulated to help reduce the occurrence of kidney/bladder stones or to help control blood sugar in diabetic dogs, while others were formulated to help dogs with chronically itchy skin. Some dog food companies even went as far as calling their dog foods “prescription” diets available only from licensed veterinarians. The dog food industry embraced the idea of formulating foods specifically balanced to act as an adjunct treatment for animals with different types of diseases. From this concept a new line of canine nutrition has emerged; preventative nutrition.