Replacement heifers and cattle cycles, Part 2

摘要

I routinely estimate the costs of replacement heifers as we go through the current cattle cycle. Figure 1 presents my estimated cost of raising replacement heifers from 2011 through 2017. Clearly, the highest-cost replacement heifers over this seven-year period were those preg-checked heifers entering the herd in fall 2015.As pointed out in my last Market Adviser column, there are two components in the cost of a preg-checked replacement heifer. First, there is the market value — opportunity cost — determined by the market value of the weaned heifer calf that could have been sold at weaning. Second, there is the on-ranch cost, or the cost of developing, the heifer calf into a preg-checked heifer.