Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. Zero calf loss is an outcome every producer would welcome. But it does not come from one piece of equipment, one protocol, or one management decision. Calf survival reflects many factors working together: colostrum and nutrition, sanitation, observation,…
The Efficiency Lab™ Series In modern pork production, efficiency is often measured in labor hours, pig throughput, employee retention, or production performance. But on many hog operations, the true starting point for efficiency is determined long before the first pig enters the barn. It starts with flow. Not just pig flow — but the flow…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. The purchase price of a calf hutch is easy to calculate. The cost of working around a poorly designed system for years is much harder to see. A hutch may look like a relatively simple piece of equipment.…
The decisions you make today will impact your kids and grandkids. It is important to make the right decisions today so that the next generation will have a good, stable foundation to build upon. The same goes for our breeding decisions – the sires you AI to this year will affect the future of your…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. Cleaning is a routine part of every calf program. Teams scrape pens, wash equipment, and rinse surfaces. On paper, the process seems straightforward. However, cleaning is not as simple as it looks. The difference often comes down…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. Unlike sanitation or feeding protocols, air quality in the calf barn is not always visible—but its impact is constant. It influences calf health every hour of the day, whether it’s being actively managed or not. Air moves through…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. When producers think about sanitation in calf environments, the conversation often starts with routines — washing pens, disinfecting equipment, refreshing bedding, and maintaining feeding tools. These protocols are essential. But sanitation is not simply about how often surfaces…
We walk through a lot of barns. Some of them have flooring that went in 20 years ago and still looks like it belongs there. Others have floors that are rusting at the weld joints, cracking where the coating peeled, or patched together with replacements that do not match the originals. The barns are roughly…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. For years, calf housing has often been viewed as a temporary stage — a place to get animals started before the real work of dairy production begins. But that way of thinking is rapidly changing. A critical component…
Part of the “Built to Perform. Built to Last.” series, exploring long-term performance in early calf environments. Labor is one of the most discussed challenges in dairy operations today. In calf programs, its impact runs deeper than most producers realize. Daily tasks—feeding, bedding, cleaning, health checks, and moving calves—require time and attention. On their…