Fall is a busy time of the year for dairies and calf operations, and it’s also a time we need to be extra-vigilant about a life-threatening health condition for calves: bloat.

Acidification of milk and milk replacer is a practice that has been around for a long time, with ebbs and flows of popularity. It involves adding an organic acid to lower the pH of the liquid ration to manage the growth of detrimental bacteria.

Even skipping a couple of sanitation steps for a few days, or failing to properly wash one piece of equipment, can lead to an outbreak of sick, scouring calves that may take weeks to reverse.