A main premise of a Lakeland education is the opportunity to engage in the real world before becoming a part of it. For Justin Kane and Ronya Wittwer, that meant participating in an applied research project to determine the viability of using a supplement given to calves that will assist producers in addressing potential challenges with vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

“It's neat to be involved in something other people are going to benefit from,” Wittwer says. She is an animal science technology student majoring in beef and records keeper for the Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland (SMF) purebred unit. “We're doing this for cattle producers everywhere to see if this supplement works better.”

The supplement, Vitaferst, is given orally to calves at one to three days of age. The intent is to improve neonatal health and immunity in the calves, potentially reducing the need for antibiotics later in life. It's designed to increase levels of vitamins and minerals which the calves may not receive enough of from milk or colostrum.

“Because it's an oral supplement, it's much less stressful on the calves and you don't need to restrain them the same way,” says Kane, research coordinator for the commercial beef SMF.

Carien Vanderberg, Janet Nowosad and their team of farm staff and students collected blood samples to measure vitamin and mineral levels in the calves to track the effectiveness of the supplement, which is where the student volunteers came in.

“The researchers in the trial wanted student volunteers to help, so they came to each SMF group looking for volunteers to be involved,” Wittwer says.

Kane stepped up, as did Wittwer.

“Other members came out to help with moving calves, weighing them and everything else. There were always helpers coming in,” he says.

The main skill that both Kane and Wittwer learned and are excited about is how to manage blood draws. Neither of them had any experience with it before. They were taught best practices by a veterinarian, Dr. Crystal Mullen.

“If you learn to do something properly the first time, you don't learn bad habits,” Wittwer explains. “I was really impressed by the veterinarian who came in and showed us how to draw blood. She gave us tips on how to make the calves more comfortable as well as different techniques for holding them to make it easier for them and easier for the person drawing blood.”

“It was a good experience, learning new skills like that,” adds Kane. “It'll be useful at home and on different operations.”
Wittwer agrees, saying, “We have to take blood samples on our own operations sometimes, for disease tests or anything else. Previously, we'd have to call someone else in or have the vet in. Now I can do it for my own herd.”

Both Kane and Wittwer are grateful to have been involved in a project that will have a lasting impact on the beef industry.

“It was interesting talking to the researchers about what they are looking for in the blood and why they were doing the trials,” says Wittwer.

“It will be pretty interesting to see the results,” Kane agrees.

This project is supported by Lakeland researchers Brenda Ralston and Andrea Hanson in collaboration with industry partners: Alberta Veterinary Laboratories/Solvet, Chinook Contract Research and Vermilion area cow-calf producers.

Photos: Top - Ronya Wittwer feeds a calf the supplement. Bottom - Justin Kane helps gather the calves.