RANCHING Business
the cost the heifer would have brought in the market, which can be $1,500 or more in today’s weaned heifer market. The second largest cost is the price of her de- velopment — another $300 or more, plus the revenue lost by not having a producing cow. Those costs might be too signifi cant to overlook. “Heifers born and raised in 2015 won’t have a calf
that is old enough for market in late 2017, which could be at a different point in the cattle cycle,” Swigert says. “Today’s heifers are very expensive and theo- retically they will produce calves that could be worth much less. Producers have to look at the value of the heifers now, along with their production value over a lifetime, to determine what makes the most sense for their operations.” Another consideration is the genetics of the heifer.
If a ranch has traditionally had a terminal operation, focusing on weight coming off the ranch, that ranch may not have the right type of females to raise superior replacement heifers, Wells says. “High quality replacement heifers have the capacity
to produce a calf year in and year out with minimal inputs,” Wells says. “They need to fi t into the environ- ment where they are expected to produce and to thrive
in that environment for the long term. If a heifer can’t do that, why keep her around?” Another component to consider is the bull battery.
Bulls that work well for a terminal operation focused on growth traits are not necessarily the best bulls for producing superior replacement females. “For the past several years, replacement heifers have
been very valuable,” Swigert says. “This year, the cow herd is up 2.1 percent, signaling a change. Producers need to evaluate whether the window for profi tability will extend for a period long enough to recover the cost of changing the bull battery to those bulls that produce top-notch females.” It’s important to note that steers produced in a re-
placement heifer operation will not perform the same way as those produced in a terminal system, he says. There could be as much as a 50- to 75-pound reduc- tion in weaning weight when using bulls that will sire quality replacement heifers rather than bulls that produce calves with growth traits.
Management considerations Replacement heifers, whether they are being kept for the herd or sold, require some additional management.
Pearsall Livestock Auction
P.O. Box 426 Pearsall, Texas 78061
www.pearsalllivestock.com 830-334-3653
Frank Helvey or Kelley Thigpen
Sale Every Wednesday 11:00 a.m.
Please call for more information. 54 The Cattleman July 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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