Calf Care Around The World: Rosa Rodríguez - Mexico to USA

This week as we travel around the world on our tour of calf raising facilities, we will be visiting Stanfield Arizona, USA!  Rosa Rodríguez, Calf Ranch Manager from T&K Red River Dairy, has a few things to share with us about raising calves in the desert.

Rosa is originally from Mexico, she is married and has 4 kids, 2 of which have left home and are now attending college. In 1999 Rosa immigrated to the United States and settled in Wisconsin. In 2001 she started working on the doctor crew at a large calf ranch and she continued to work there until 2008. 

When Rosa’s mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, she moved to Arizona, and has been there ever since. The move to Arizona brought her to working on the doctor crew at the calf ranch for T&K Red River Dairy.  After 3 years there she moved into the manager position.

Q: What are some of your calf raising goals at T&K dairy?

A: My personal goal is to raise the best quality of calves, so that in the future the world can enjoy the best beef and milk products.

At T&K right now, we are very happy with our calf growth. Our calves average 90 lbs. at birth and then we weigh them again at 114 days when they are moved out to the feed lot. Currently the calves are averaging 2 lbs. of gain per day for the first 114 days. We would like to get to 2.2 or 2.3 lbs. of gain per day, so that is something we are working on.

Q: What is your milk feeding program like?

A: From day 1-14 they drink saleable milk from the dairy.  At day 15 we switch to pasteurized hospital milk balanced with a 21% protein Non-fat dry powdered milk. Calves are weaned at 60 days. 

Q: What are some of your biggest challenges.

A: The hot summer weather here in Arizona is our biggest challenge. Calves overheat easily. We mist calves showing signs of heat stress with water and prop our hutches up on blocks so that air can flow better through the hutch.  If a calf is really struggling, then we will move it to an area with fans where they stay for 3-4 days and then they go back to their individual hutch. We also provide calves with electrolytes and IV’s as needed throughout the heat of summer.

Q: What aspect of calf raising does T&K Dairy excel at?

A: On average, we have about 3,000 calves on milk at all times. All the calves come from the same dairy. I feel like our calf feeders are really good at working together and staying organized. I have 3 teams of feeders that go out at the same time. We have 2 bottle carts out feeding milk, and a doctor team that follows behind each cart.  The other team works at the feedlot with the older animals.  

Q: How do you keep consistent labor?

A: Sometimes it is hard to keep enough workers, and it has been especially hard during the pandemic. Sometimes our workers will help to find new hires. Right now, I am short 1 guy on the medicine team in the corrals, and the other employees get upset because it’s hard to give them their scheduled day off.  Luckily sometimes people want to work extra on their day off and that helps.

When we do get new hires, we have a training program, for them. We also be sure to thank them for their hard work, and try to support them with things they request. Often, I help cover for them on their time off.  We just try to keep them happy, and they will do a better job. 

We get a lot of support from our veterinarian too. He helps me talk to and train the employees. He gives advice to workers to help them do a better job. Our nutritionist also speaks Spanish and helps to motivate our workers, they know he cares. We also have great reps from Zoetis and MicroBasics that help bring us new ideas and implement protocols that make our work easier.

Thank-you Rosa for the time you took to share with us a little about calf raising in Arizona! Stay tuned for next weeks blog, we will be traveling across the ocean!

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.