Although heifers represent the future of the dairy and an important investment, their management is often given a back seat to other enterprises on the farm. Good nutrition, management, and health programs are essential to meet heifer-rearing goals. This course seeks to develop an understanding of important influences on dairy replacement heifer development and health from birth to calving, as well as the impact of those factors on future performance. Areas of focus will include growth and development; housing and facility design; management of the calf at birth; feeding management; vaccination and other preventive health management programs; important diseases of dairy replacement heifers in North America; monitoring heifer growth and health; using heifer data to make culling decisions; and, economics of heifer rearing. Lastly, a series of case studies will be presented to illustrate investigation and mitigation of heifer growth and disease challenges. 

Instructor: Dr. Fiona Maunsell

For more information about our program and other course offerings, visit our website at https://animal.ifas.ufl.edu/fida/.
Please contact us through the following email if you have any questions or concerns: FIDA@ifas.ufl.edu.