Within one to two days after they’re born, the calves, both male and female, are moved to another farm that specializes in raising calves. This farm is also a local family farm within 20 miles of Majestic Crossing Dairy. There, the calves get an extraordinary amount of care and attention.
Dean checking the health of a newborn calf.
The male and female calves are cared for the same way at the calf raiser, but they are raised for different purposes. The males are raised as steers. Steers are bull calves that are castrated and raised for the beef market. The females are raised to become milk cows and produce the wholesome milk that we love.
During the time that the females, or heifers, are at the calf raising farm, they are bred using artificial insemination. They are moved back to the home farm when they are between six and eight weeks from their due date. When the heifers have their calves, the whole process starts all over again.
Having our calves raised off the farm in a place that specializes in raising calves allows us to focus on what we do extremely well at Majestic Crossing – caring for the cows and crops to produce milk. We know our calves are getting great care at the calf raiser because they are able to focus on what they do best – caring for the base of our herd.
