Our seventh writing was done by Abby McCalmon. She is a second year master’s student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science with a minor in Biology from the same institution. She works with Precision Technology in the Dairy Industry especially Automatic Milking Systems and fetch cow status.

Growth and Development Symposium: 41st Discover Conference: Health Management of Calves – From Intrauterine Life to Successful Weaning

The Growth and Development Symposium: 41st Discover Conference (DC): Health Management of Calves – From Intrauterine Life to Successful Weaning was held on Tuesday at the ADSA Annual Meeting.

Dr. Sabine Mann from Cornell University presented and summarized the fetal development and early life session from DC. The objective of this presentation was to summarize the ramifications of late-gestation status on the production of colostrum and its effect on calf health, growth, and survival pre-weaning. More research on this topic can help develop management practices to advance calf health and future cow productivity.

The second speaker was Dr. Micheal Steele from the University of Guelph in Canada, who spoke on new concepts in preweaning and weaning nutrition and management. He summarized the pre-weaning nutrition and the transition to the ruminating calf sessions from DC. The purpose of this presentation was to show the possibility to adopt new precision nutrition and management during the pre-weaning and weaning time period for short- and long-term importance on lifetime performance. 

The final speaker Dr. Dave Renaud from the University of Guelph in Canada discussed lessons learned in calf health and welfare. The objective of this presentation was to show the importance of calf health and strategies to decrease disease as well as discuss the challenges of the public’s perception of animal welfare.