Dairy heifers represent the future of the herd. The aim of every heifer-rearing enterprise should be to rear enough healthy, well-grown individuals with excellent fertility that are well equipped to join the herd at first calving. Such animals are then more likely to achieve their full lifetime potential in terms of fertility, milk yield and survivability. This, in turn, reduces the number of animals lost prematurely due to involuntary culling and so fewer replacements are needed in the future. However, a short productive life continues to pose a challenge to the dairy industry, severely limiting opportunities for on-farm selection of breeding cows and causing financial losses on farms.
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