This episode was recorded at the 2025 Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada.

Dr. Sabine Mann, Cornell University; Dr. Will Mustas, Progressive Dairy Solutions; Dr. Don Niles, Dairy Dreams LLC; and Joey Airosa, Airosa Dairy Farms, introduce themselves. (0:48)

Dr. Mann outlines the high points of her presentation. Giving an adequate amount of high-quality colostrum quickly after birth is essential to equip the calf with the best chances to stay healthy. Colostrum is more than a solution of water and immunoglobulins, and we are continuing to learn more about other nutrients and growth factors that colostrum contains. (12:03)

Dr. Niles and Mr. Airosa talk about colostrum and maternity protocols on their dairies. Each has dedicated maternity staff in charge of postnatal calf care. Don mentions they often have public tours of their dairy and shares some anecdotes. Joey’s maternity staff try to get colostrum in calves within 30 minutes of birth and have worked out a good communication system to ensure seamless calf care when shift changes occur. (13:57)

Dr. Mann emphasizes the timing of colostrum delivery is critical. But what about the amount? Should every calf get four liters? Joey notes they bottle feed and have settled on three quarts for Holstein calves and two quarts for Jersey calves. Sabine says research backs that up - calves will not voluntarily drink much more than 3-3.5 liters. Using esophageal feeders to give four liters could be overfeeding in some cases, which could cause slower emptying of the stomach and thus slower arrival and uptake of immunoglobulins at the small intestine. The four liter recommendation came from the idea that good quality colostrum probably had about 50 grams per liter of IgG, and at that time, we wanted to get 200 grams into the calf. Perhaps making a sheet with recommended amounts based on calf weights could be helpful for maternity staff. Dr. Mann also clarifies that the 50 grams per liter of IgG is not really good quality colostrum. Most herds average about 90-100 grams per liter of IgG in colostrum. She recommends every farm find out how good their colostrum is and optimize feeding amounts from there. (22:45)

Dr. Mann notes the importance of making sure dry cows are not deficient in protein supply and ensuring the dry period is long enough to create high-quality colostrum. While it’s commonly thought older cows have better colostrum than young cows, she underlines again the importance of measuring colostrum quality to know for sure. She also highly recommends measuring colostrum quality from individual cows before pooling so that poor colostrum does not dilute good colostrum. (31:04)

Dr. Mustas shares some of the challenges he’s seeing on dairies where he consults. What can we do to control the bacteriological quality of colostrum? He notes there’s no reason we can’t get very low bacteria counts pre-pasteurization. Making sure maternity areas are clean and sanitary, udders are prepped very well, and harvesting equipment is not neglected are all great strategies. (35:53)

Dr. Mann talks about individual cow variation in colostrum production and some factors that might influence including placental interactions, hormones, and genetics. (38:04)

Scott and Sabine discuss some of the research around supplementing with choline during the dry period and subsequent colostrum production. (41:28)

Dr. Niles comments that pasteurization of colostrum has been one of the most exciting technologies to come along. On his farm, the pasteurizer has given them much more control over colostrum quality and delivery time. Dr. Mann agrees storage of colostrum has given dairies the ability to be strategic about how they use colostrum, what colostrum they use, and to also plan for seasonal colostrum shortages. She agrees with Dr. Mustas that clean colostrum harvesting equipment is key to low bacterial counts. (44:13)

Dr. Mustas talks about how the beef-on-dairy phenomenon has altered colostrum protocols. Calf ranches are giving deductions for poor colostrum scores when calves are received. Some operations even offer premiums or discounts on daily yardage depending on individual calf colostrum scores. (50:21)

Joey, Don, and Sabine comment on the importance of finding the right people to work in maternity and instilling the idea that taking care of cows and calves is both a great responsibility and a great honor. (52:56)

The panel wraps up with their take-home thoughts. (58:31)

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