In the Ozarks area, the summer of 2013 has included mild temperatures and average or above average in rainfall, contrary to previous years and current conditions in Texas and the southwest that have not seen any drought recovery.
“Pastures are recovering nicely, hay is plentiful, corn and supplemental feeds appear to be cheaper than in recent history; so producers are looking to retain or purchase heifers to start rebuilding their herds,” said Steven Jones, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science and Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Arkansas.
Replacement heifers are usually necessary due to non-pregnancy, old age, poor performance, bad disposition or udder problems.
Timing regarding planning of replacement heifer decisions will depend on when producers want to begin “controlling” development.
“Bred heifers minimize the work but seller processes must align with buyer goals,” said Justin Sexten, state Extension specialist of beef nutrition for the University of Missouri’s Division of Animal Sciences. “Open heifers ready to breed allow increased sire selection opportunities while purchasing weaned calves allow producers opportunity to influence nutritional development, sire genetics and early culling due to performance and disposition.”
“Herds that calve both in late winter-early spring or the fall early-winter may be looking to add replacement heifers year-round,” said Eldon Cole, livestock specialist for the University of Missouri Extension.
When making purchasing decisions for replacement heifers, producers need to consider background information such as their health program and history, nutritional condition and the heifer’s sire background.
Sexten also suggested producers consult the University of Missouri’s Show-Me-Select genetic guidelines to minimize calving difficulty when considering matching sires to new replacement heifers in a herd. “The first goal is a live calf with minimal dystocia, so a heifer breeds back,” Sexten said.
“Heifers should be bred to a low birth weight bull,” Jones said. “Therefore, time and effort should be placed on bull selection, whether pasture breeding or artificial insemination. Although calving ease EPD’s may be a priority, other important economic traits should not be ignored. These include weaning weight, yearling weight and maternal traits.”
Cole also recommended asking the seller of the heifers if any of the heifer calves or open yearlings were bred “accidently.” A pregnancy test should be in order. Again, this and several other guidelines are a part of the Show-Me-Select heifer development program that producers should refer to.
“Producers should select heifers born early in calving season, calves born early tend to be more productive throughout life,” Sexten said. “Also, when managing groups consider splitting to minimize overfeeding big heifers while optimizing feed to smaller heifers.”
Regardless of when heifers are purchased and introduced to a new herd, they should be isolated for 30 days before mixing with the native cows. Sexten also recommended allowing adequate bunk space for all cattle during acclimation.
According to Jones, heifers should be managed differently than mature cows. “Because they are still growing and maturing, their nutritional requirements are higher than mature cows. Therefore, they should be separated from the rest of the herd to be fed differently. Heifers should be at 65 percent of their mature size at breeding and at 85 percent of their mature size at calving. Because they are still growing, they will still have the highest nutritional requirements prior to and after calving.”
The type, size and breed of the heifer selected should be based on the producers long-term objectives and marketing strategy for the herd.
