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March brings spring calving reminders

Spring calving season is underway, and an Extension beef specialist says producers need to have a plan in place.

Travis Meteer is with the University of Illinois…

“Make sure you’ve got cows preg checked,” he says, “so you can be more alert at that time and then just having a clean environment to help reduce any challenges to the calves immune system.”

Meteer also says that colostrum is vital to newborn calves…

“If we have a cow that has a difficult birth, we may need to intervene and help that animal consume colostrum.”  He says, “There are colostrum replacers out there. We can sometimes milk the cow and administer that colostrum through a tube feeder.”

While most cows can handle calving without intervention, Meteer says good animal stewards need to be ready to help if required.