Though 2010 weaned-calf prices are improved from 2009, higher calf prices alone aren't sufficient to trigger expansion; higher profits per cow are needed. And that may come if the effects of recent stronger export demand trickle down to weaned-calf prices over the next few years. With that in mind, let's discuss the projected economic value of a preg-checked heifer. This economic value is the sum of her future annual "net incomes" generated from all the calves a heifer produces while in your herd, plus her eventual cull value. Given the time value of money, those future annual incomes need to be discounted back to today's dollars.
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