Management
Heifer Development and Long-term Profitability
By Travis Mulliniks, University of Nebraska extension
Developing a heifer to replace a cull
cow is one of the most expensive
management decisions for cow-calf
producers, leading to major implications
on long-term herd profitability.
When the decision to develop heifers
has been made, the question then
becomes “what is the proper strategy to
develop replacements for the cowherd?”
Traditional recommendations suggest
heifers should be managed to reach 65%
of their mature body weight at breeding
to maximize pregnancy rate. In the last
several years, multiple studies across
differing environmental conditions have
proved heifers can be developed to as
low as 48 to 50% of mature body weight
with no negative impact on pregnancy
rates. Heifers in these systems are
developed at a restricted gain (less
than 0.75 lb/d of gain) while utilizing
a compensatory gain or increased
gain period at the time of breeding.
For cow/calf operations, maximizing
outputs does not necessarily result
in maximizing profit. Sometimes
the “proper” way to develop heifers
disregards her net present value and
ability to pay her investment cost
off. Just like any capital investment,
retained or purchased heifers are
only worth the sum of all the income
over their lifetime, including salvage
value minus production costs of that
occurred during development.
A recent study, Profitability of
Developing Beef Heifers on Stockpiled
Winter Forages, published in the
Journal of Applied Farm Economics
compared developing heifers on
a low-input, forage-based system
to a high-input, drylot system and
the impact on profitability of the
system over an 11-year lifespan.
Heifer replacement rate and cow costs
were held constant across the heifer
development systems. The net present
value of heifers developed on a low-
input, forage-based system ranged
from $264 to $468/head. Heifers
developed in a drylot system had a
net present value of a negative $876/
head and were developed to reach
65% of their mature body weight.
Breakeven period to pay off heifer
development costs was estimated in
years of age, and heifers in forage-
based systems became profitable
at 3 to 4 years of age, whereas
heifers developed in a drylot were
9 to 10 years of age before their
investment cost was covered.
Altogether, developing heifers in a high-
input system increased production risks
and decreased long-term profitability.
Since cow costs and replacement rates
were the same in the mentioned study
above, the only thing that differed was
investment or development costs. Low-
input heifer development decreased
costs and increased opportunity, which
extensive research has indicated will not
sacrifice reproductive performance.
With that in mind, when we think
about heifer development, we may
want to consider more than just
maximizing pregnancy rates, but
increasing the net present value or
general value of that heifer. Low-input,
cost-effective heifer systems allow for
increased flexibility of marketing.
In a production system, heifer programs
are essentially a stocker operation
with multiple end marketing or target
options. Pregnant heifers can be
kept as replacements or sold, while
the non-pregnant heifers are young
enough to be fed for the choice
beef market or kept as yearlings.
Another advantage to low-cost
heifer development systems is
increased longevity within the
cowherd. Profitability and longevity
in the cowherd are directly tied
to each other. Research from New
Mexico and Montana indicate
that 30 to 60% of heifers remain
in the herd after 5 years of age.
In addition, high-input development
systems tend to decrease longevity in
rangeland production settings. In most
cowherds, this is largely due to the
highest non-pregnant rate occurring
in young, 2- and 3-year-old females
that are asked to get pregnant, while
lactating for the first or second time, and
still growing themselves. Cost-effective,
low-input heifer development systems
helps identify sub-fertile heifers early
that need additional nutrient resources
to make it as a cow and lack the ability
to sustain reproductive function under
limited nutritional environments.
At the end of the day, heifer
development should be focused on
increasing long-term profitability of
the cowherd and creating value of the
heifer rather than focusing on high
yearling pregnancy rates or achieving
certain percentage of body weight. I
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