Housing systems for calves have a crucial impact on their well-being and health. Designed to create an ideal environment that promotes comfortable development, constant advancements have been made in these housing systems to prioritize calf welfare and maximize their growth potential. By providing a nurturing and controlled environment, these systems facilitate development of healthy and productive calves. In this episode, Dr. Brad Heins shares his knowledge and work on calf housing systems while comparing calves that were housed and raised individually, in pairs, and in groups with calves raised alongside cows in a dairy herd.

“There are a lot of things happening in the industry right now that we need to be at the forefront of instead of being told what to do. We need to research these options and see what happens." - Dr. Brad Heins

What you’ll learn:

• (0:00) Highlight
• (2:05) Introduction
• (2:59) Guest’s background
• (5:13) UMN Research Center 
• (9:42) Calf housing
• (13:45) Calf raising scenarios and cross-suckling 
• (16:51) Managing the calves that stay with the cows
• (23:39) The disbudding of calves
• (28:15) Agrivoltaic systems in combination with grazing dairy production
• (32:45) Final questions

Meet the guest: Dr. Brad Heins

Experience:

• Current: Professor at the University of Minnesota
• Past: Dairy Farmer; Marketing and PR for World Wide Sires in California.

Background:

• Ph.D., Dairy Cattle Genetics (University of Minnesota)
• M.Sc., Dairy Cattle Genetics (University of Minnesota)
• B.Sc., Animal and Plant Systems (University of Minnesota)

Connect with the guest!

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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