Successful management of calves is all about the details that add up to create a healthy, profitable member of the milking herd. Beyond excessive heat, summer weather provides an environment that can challenge our calves with increased humidity, favorable conditions for pests and pathogens, and a higher incidence of disease due to these factors. In the summer, heat stress causes immune system depression in calves. In addition, calves born to heat-stressed dams absorb fewer antibodies, leading to higher rates of failed passive transfer of immunity. According to the DCHA Gold Standard performance goals, your calf program should strive to have a treatment rate of less than 10 percent of calves for pneumonia, and less than 15 percent of calves for scours with an overall survival rate of greater than 97 percent for calves up to weaning age.