Studies have shown that it can take the net profit from five or six calves, to break even on the investment of developing a heifer.
Shelby Rosasco, University of Wyoming extension beef specialist, encourages producers to calculate the break-even point and return on investment when developing replacement heifers. Heifer development costs to consider include feed, health, breeding and other management expenses.
She points out it is important to remember heifer development is unique for each operation and to consider that production goals and environment all impact a female’s success.
“Manage heifers to fit their future production environment,” she suggests. This can help select for heifers better adapted to the conditions they will face as cows.
“If you have the resources and you can feed them and get them to 60 to 65% mature body weight, relatively easy, that’s great,” she explains. “You’re going to be really successful, but if you’re never going to treat them like that as a cow again, I think we need to think about, how do I select and adapt those heifers to fit their future production environment?”
Rosasco discussed the nutritional management of replacement heifers for reproductive success at the Beef Reproduction Task Force’s Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium.
“We can develop heifers to a slightly lower percentage mature body weight and still be successful,” she says summarizing research.
Rosasco adds it is better to challenge the heifers when they are young not when you are trying to re-breed them as a first-calf heifer.
“I think putting pressure on them as a heifer, is a better time to do that, versus waiting till they’re in the cow herd, and then they’re falling out as young cows and you have put additional money and the time into them.”
According to Rosasco the expectations for a heifer should be to:
- Attain puberty before breeding season
- Become pregnant early in the calving season and calve by 2 years of age.
“Heifers that get bred in the first 21 days have an increase in survivability and retention in the herd, and they also see increased weaning weights over their first six calves,” she says. - Calve without assistance
- Wean a marketable calf
- Rebreed as first-calf heifer and maintain 365-day calving interval
- Maximize lifetime productivity with adequate longevity. Stay in the herd long enough to break even and start turning a profit.
Rosasco says a stair-step approach to nutrition — utilizing periods of low gains followed by periods of stepping them up to higher gains, results in benefits to increase the ovarian reserve, which can improve longevity.
Another point Rosasco stresses is the importance of maintaining nutrition after development and during the breeding phase as the heifer is continuing to grow.
“We need to make sure that their rate of gain and nutritional management stays consistent, from pre-breeding to when we AI or turn the bulls out,” she says. “If producers are developing heifers in a drylot or managing them on a higher plane of nutrition and then turning them out on to pasture during breeding season there is potential for a change in nutrient intake and rate of gain. And with that change in nutrition, even though it’s good summer pasture, we can see a decrease in AI or first-service conception rates.”
Long term, Rosasco summarizes the key for female longevity and productivity is to tailor her nutritional management strategies to the specific needs and goals of the operation to optimize reproductive success in the replacement heifers.
Your next read: Calculating Costs for Replacement Heifers
