A renewed focus on youngstock

from Country Acres - June 4, 2021

Farm cuisine: Everything but the squeal

BY JENNIFER COYNE STAFF WRITER

SWANVILLE – Jared Capko and Renee Hebig can describe their calfraising facility in three words: Clean, convenient and effi cient. “We did all of this for healthy calves,” Capko said. “Our death loss is down, and these calves are healthier when they leave this barn.” In the second half of 2020, Capko and his family built a 128-by60 tunnel-ventilated calf barn equipped with four group pens fed with two automatic feeders and 20 individual hutches. Capko milks 300 cows with his dad, Jerry, and uncle, Larry, in Morrison County near Swanville. The family put calves in the barn last November. “We’re getting that consistency now,” said Hebig, calf manager. “We’ve created a system that lets everyone be selfsuffi cient here, and we’re watching calves succeed.” A feed room is in the center of the barn with individual calf hutches in youngstock with three employees to maintain detailed records of each animal. Calves are monitored through the automated feeder’s computer program which Hebig can look up on her phone, and also tracked with vaccinations and health occurrences via an intricate chart Hebig designed in the feed room. “Our protocol is laid out so it is convenient for everyone,” Hebig said. “We found a way to make calf chores consistent for everybody.” Previously, the Capkos were housing the calves in a naturallyventilated dirt-fl oor barn and feeding with one automated calf feeder. There were 11 individual hutches near the farm’s maternity and sick cow pen for background PHOTO BY MARK KLAPHAKE calves, and an overfl ow of Jared Capko and Renee Hebig stand in the Capkos’ tunnel-ventilated calf barn May 17 near Swanville. The Capkos built the barn this past year to improve calf health and wellbeing. youngstock were housed in hutches in the nearby hay shed. the middle on the north sick calves or those that as well as fans and side pens designed to house The overstocked pens and south sides of the do not adapt well to the curtains to improve 20 animals each. All and poor ventilation made room. To the east and west automated feeders. ventilation. youngstock in the barn it diffi cult for calves to are two sets of group pens The barn also Newborn calves are receive free-choice grain thrive, said Capko. that are fed with Holm includes sloped fl ooring kept in hutches for the and water. “We were seeing so and Laue Calf Experts. A throughout, with trench fi rst two weeks and then Hebig oversees this set of three calf hutches drains below each pen to transferred to the group group of youngstock on are set aside and used for remove excess moisture pens until weaned, with the farm and works closely Capko page 6

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