Gold Standards for calf and heifer raisers established by DCHA

A long-standing objective of developing production standards for dairy calf and heifer businesses has now been realized. The final version of the DCHA Gold Standards is now available(click here to review Gold Standards). The standards outline production and performance expectations in six categories for Holstein calves from birth to six months of age. Additional goals for older animals will be added in the future.

The standards were developed by a team of producers, contract growers, consultants and industry representatives who surveyed producers, DCHA members and university specialists across the United States. The final step was approval from the DCHA membership at the annual conference in Tucson in March 2009. Support for this project was generously provided by Pfizer Animal Health (http://www.pfizerah.com/).