Abstract #M88

Section: Animal Health
Session: Animal Health I
Format: Poster
Day/Time: Monday 7:30 AM–9:30 AM
Location: Exhibit Hall B
# M88
A statewide survey of colostrum management practices on organic dairy farms in Ohio.
L. da Costa*1, K. Bohland2, 1Department of Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Newborn calf survival is an important indicator of farm success. In order for calves to fully develop, ingestion of high quality colostrum is essential during the first hours of life. Proper intake of quality colostrum can determine the future health and milking performance of the calf. The aim of this study was to survey Ohio organic dairy farms regarding practices related to administration and management of colostrum. The survey was done by phone interviews based on questions of a questionnaire previously validated lasting approximately 10 min. Farm size were distributed as 68% between 30 to 50 cows, 26% between 51 to 100 animals, and the remaining 6% 101 or more cows. The range of farm size varies between 30 and 650 cows. We received response from 43 producers and 100% of them stated that they fed colostrum to their calves. A small percentage (6%) of producers indicated that calves stayed with their mothers in the first 12 h. The time that most calves receive colostrum varied between 1 and 3 h to 12–24 h. Over 90% of producers understand the importance of feeding colostrum as early as possible, with 16% offering within 1 h of birth, almost 40% giving it between 1 to 3 h and 32% between 3 to 6 h. Only 10% of producers offer colostrum to their calves between 6 to 12 h and 2.6% between 12 to 24 h after birth. Half of responders let calves drink colostrum ad libitum. Almost 25% of producers fed 4 L (or 4 quarts; liters and quart were used interchangeable) following by 12% offering 3 L and 12% offering 2 L. Calves were weaned at an age older than 8 weeks of age in 44% of responding herds, at 8 weeks in 46% and between 6 to 7 weeks of age in 10%. Out of 43 responders only 2 farms tested colostrum quality routinely and one farm tested it weekly. The remaining 40 farms (93%) never tested it. Testing was performed routinely in those farms with more than 101 cows. Based on the results it is possible to note that testing colostrum quality is not a routine practice used by small organic producers in Ohio. Furthering education and training practices could be very impactful to improve management practices regarding colostrum.

Key Words: survey, colostrum, organic