During the first few weeks of life, calves are at the highest risk of getting sick which is why we practice “social distancing farmer style” by placing calves in individual pens. Did you know that calves can get sick from fecal contact? Yes, that’s right. Cow manure or another calf’s poop can make a newborn calf ill. This is why it’s very critical to get a newborn calf into its own clean, safe, healthy environment so we can provide individualized care as their immune system builds. Calves are eventually placed in small group pens (sizes vary on each farm) after a certain period of time when the chance of spreading diseases has decreased and their immune systems have grown.

So as we’re all understanding the importance of practicing our social distancing in our own realities, we want you to know that it’s one of the ways we care for our calves on the farm. Farmers can’t afford to face the reality of having to “flatten the curve” in their herd because the calves that are being born are the next generation of their herd so farmers don’t even want to see a “curve” begin on their farm.