AGRICULTURAL
Replacement heifers
With good management the best asset
class on your farm
If a cattle farmer had to categorise the different production cycles of his herd of cattle in
different asset classes as investment possibilities, there would be different investment
possibilities for the different asset classes, with different return possibilities. One such an
asset class in the portfolio of every farmer, would be replacement heifers.
By Phillip Lee
Hinterland Manager:
Livestock Solutions
U
nfortunately it is this very
important asset class which
often does not perform as
desired, with long-term nega-
tive financial consequences. In this article
we will be looking at reasons for this pro
blem and how to address the problem as
asset managers.
THE REPLACEMENT HEIFER
By definition a replacement heifer is a
female animal which naturally develops in
such a manner as to reach approximately
66% of her mature weight at the age of
approximately 18 months, by which time
she can be mated successfully and will
give birth to a live calf at approximately
85% of her mature weight.
She should also have a 90% chance of
reconception and she has to wean at least
45% of her own body weight. She is also
expected to wean a calf every year for the
next 10 to 12 years with a total TKP of <
400 days. It is clear from the definition of
a replacement heifer that expectations are
very high and we can understand why the
return (calf percentages, weaning mass
20
SENWES SCENARIO | WINTER 2019
and reconception percentage) is often
disappointing.
THE ROLE OF GOOD MANAGEMENT
The influence of the fund manager in
respect of the specific asset class can-
not be over-emphasised. It includes all
aspects of herd management - from
supervision and health management to
nutritional management and selection. We
see far too often in practice that heifers
are kept in a hillside camp and almost for-
gotten about to make them 'tough' - defi-
nitely the recipe for poor returns.
The same applies when the replace-
ment group is incorporated with the rest of
the cow herd too soon. The guideline is to
manage replacement heifers as replace-
ment heifers, until they have been certified
by a veterinary surgeon as being pregnant
for the second time. It involves a three-
year program. The potential of the heifer
as future herd cow, is established here.
WHERE DOES SELECTION START?
Selection starts during the breeding
season of the mothers. Give preference
to heifers born early in the breeding sea-
son: Not only do they wean at a heavier
weight, but there is also a high correlation
between cows which calf early and at
what stage during the season their daugh-
ters will calf. Ideally 60% of cows should
calf within the first three weeks of the
calving season and preference should be
given to the heifers.
After weaning the selection criteria
such as weaning weight (at least 10%
heavier than the average weaning weight
of the heifers in the group), correct build,
good femininity and sexual development
must be taken into account. This can be
seen as the first round of selection and
for this reason it is recommended that
producers should make provision at this
stage for the number of heifers to be
selected, since some of the heifers may
fall out in the second round.
The second round of selection is when
weaning takes place, after replacement
heifers have calved for the first time (tak-
ing into account that they must be exam-
ined rectally by a veterinary surgeon to
ensure that they reflect satisfactory sexual
development). Aspects such as recon-
ception percentage (did she conceive
within the first 42 days of the mating sea-
son), weaning mass (did she wean 45%
of her own mass) and growth rate (did her
own mass increase after she calved) must
be taken into account - all these aspects
are indicators of her ability to adjust.