Articles
FLIP DUCT®: A Truly Unique, Easy-To-Use Calf Barn Ventilation System
Click here to view as a pdf: FLIPDUCT Calf Barn Ventilation System By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.
Maintaining Your Pasture To Maximize Feed Quality
Click here to view as a pdf:Maintaining Your Pasture To Maximize Feed Quality By Erik Brettingen, B.S. Pasture is a high quality, cost-effective feed that many producers rely heavily on during the summer months. Because pasture is such a crucial feed, it is important to manage it during vulnerable times to make the most…
Providing A Clean Environment=Healthier Calves And Increased Profit
Click here to view as a pdf: Providing A Clean Environment Equals Healthier Calves By Lorrie Meister, CVT Livestock Specialist A clean environment is essential to successful calf raising. Housing, air quality and cleanliness of the surfaces the calf comes into contact with (hutches, panels, bottles, pails, feeders, etc.) all play a role in…
Maternal Colostrum Management
Click here to view as a pdf: Maternal Colostrum Management By Kaylee Viney, Livestock Specialist Giving calves the best chance for a healthy and productive life starts with proper colostrum management. Calves that receive high quality colostrum obtain the passive immunity needed to protect them against disease. Properly managing colostrum will reduce calf treatment costs…
Evaluating Dry Matter Intake From Pastures
Click here to read as a pdf: Evaluating Dry Matter Intake From Pastures By Erik Brettingen, B.S. Many producers we work with at Crystal Creek® utilize pasture as a valuable feedstuff in their ration during the grazing season. Pasture is a cost effective feed that provides great nutrition, supports rumen microbes, promotes animal health,…
Increasing Herd Profitability Despite Low Milk Prices
Click here to view as a pdf: Increasing Profitability Despite Low Milk Prices By Teresa Marker, B.S. Milk prices fluctuate due to market supply and demand. When milk prices are low, producers find themselves evaluating their current herd status and profitability. Many producers start looking at ways to improve herd health or try to…
Turning Hidden Challenges into Opportunity on a Dairy Farm
Click here to view as a pdf: Turning Hidden Challenges Into Opportunity By Teresa Marker, B.S. As a nutritionist for Crystal Creek®, I get to work with many types of dairy production models (i.e. conventional, organic, grazing). In working with these different dairy production styles, I see that they all share some common challenges.…
Ask the Vet / Ask the Nutritionist
Click here to view as a pdf: Ask The Vet Ask The Nutritionist “Every winter we have a number of animals who come in with chapped or cracked teats. We would like to prevent this but we don’t know how? Is there anything we can use to keep the cold weather from wrecking our…
The Importance of the Liver in Dairy Cows
Click here to view as a pdf: The Importance Of The Liver In Dairy Cows By Dr. John Popp, PhD. As I was researching the topic of liver function in healthy dairy cattle, I realized that the great majority of information available dealt with the metabolic diseases of the liver. It was almost impossible…
Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics – How Dual Purpose Cattle Impact Your Farm
Click Here to view as a pdf: Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics By John Popp, PhD. In March, Big Bear Genetics hosted a trip for a group of dairy farmers to tour different areas of Germany to observe purebred and crossbred herds using Fleckvieh genetics. The question on everyone’s mind was: What will these animals do…