By focusing on evaluation, planning and economic considerations, producers can ensure their herd remains competitive and efficient.
According to Michael Overton with Zoetis, merely raising a heifer does not automatically guarantee her a place on your farm, despite the opportunity she represents to upgrade the herd. At the 2025 Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nev., Overton emphasized the significance of evaluating each fresh heifer’s ability to improve the herd compared to the current cows.
Evaluating Heifers for Upgrade Potential
Producers should assess every heifer entering the herd, questioning whether she represents an upgrade over the lowest value cow currently in place. Overton suggests that if a heifer stands out as an upgrade, she should replace a current cow in the lactating herd.
“If she represents an upgrade, bring her in. Let her join the lactating herd, which means she replaces a current existing cow,” he said.
This assessment is crucial as it influences the overall quality and productivity of the herd.
“Heifers coming into the herd should represent an upgrade over the cows that are leaving the herd,” he says. “If not, we’ve got some serious flaws in some of our decision making.”
Planning for Future Heifer Needs
The dynamics of heifer replacement rates involve assessing past trends and projecting future needs. Overton says producers often overestimate the number of heifers that make it to calving. Thus, understanding historic performance over the past 24 to 36 months is vital for accurate future predictions.
“As you increase the quality of the heifers that come in, you put more pressure on the existing cows, and that’s a very important concept to remember, that’s where we’re always striving to try to improve the quality of heifers that is coming into the herd,” he says.
Understanding heifer completion rate is key when managing herd dynamics. Producers should focus on various stages, such as the percentage of heifers that conceive and actually calve, and the percentage of heifers reaching specific age milestones. Additionally, monitoring the percentage of heifers sold or died in various age brackets provides insight into herd health and management effectiveness.
Quality Matters
Quality improvement among heifers results in more cows being replaced. Quality encompasses factors such as future profit potential and desirability, with specific characteristics including high genomic and production potential, adequate size shortly after calving, optimal conditioning, ideal age for first calving and lack of carryover health issues.
Heifer completion (liveborn to calving): key stages and measures:
- Percent of heifers that conceive that actually calve
- Percent of heifers reaching 365 days of age that conceive
- Percent of heifers sold from 91 to 365 days of age
- Percent of heifers died from 91 to 365 days of age
- Percent of heifers sold by 90 days of age
- Percent of heifers died by 90 days of age
Quality refers to characteristics related to future profit potential and desirability of heifers.
Economic Considerations
Overton advises integrating economic evaluations into decision-making. Calculating the net replacement cost involves assessing trade-in values between market cows and the cost of new acquisitions. The impact of milk prices further underscores the need for strategic economic planning.
Ultimately, optimizing heifer selection is a strategic move that profoundly influences herd quality and productivity. By focusing on evaluation, planning and economic considerations, producers can ensure their herd remains competitive and efficient.
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