Is feeding waste milk to replacement heifers wise?
Waste milk is occasionally used to feed replacement dairy heifers. It is readily available and is much cheaper than feeding milk replacer, but many are questioning the wisdom of the practice. The three primary issues associated with feeding waste milk include: 1) Absorption of disease causing organisms (Johne’s, mastitis, etc.). 2) Increased incidence of mastitis due to spread of mastitis organisms through suckling if calves are not separated. 3) Antibiotic residues in calves sold for meat. To reduce these potential problems, many producers pasteurize waste milk to kill any organisms that may be present in the milk. Pasteurization reduces the incidence of diseases commonly experienced when waste milk is fed to dairy calves. Research has shown that properly pasteurized milk will kill the bacteria that cause Johne’s as well as most other mastitis causing organisms. From the initial research it would appear that pasteurization is economical for those herds large enough to justify the inve
