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Colostrum pasteurization, a routine in quality dairy calf care

A colostrum management specialist says pasteurization has become a standard practice when feeding dairy calves on many farms.

Great Lakes Territory Manager Cora Okkema with Dairy Tech tells Brownfield pasteurization drastically decreases potential pathogen loads for young calves.

“Especially at that stage where the last thing you want to do is get that calf some poor-quality colostrum,” she says. “We’ve seen colostrum management become a focus on many herds.”

Okkema says pasteurization can also help calves better absorb residual antibodies found in colostrum for immune support if done correctly.

“All with the mindset of we want to do best by the calf and know here are these metrics and these benchmarks to try and hit,” she shares.

She says ensuring animals are receiving proper volumes and quality of colostrum for a sustained period of time improves calf health and decreases mortality rates.

Brownfield interviewed Okkema during the recent Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Mount Pleasant.