With plentiful forages in the Ozarks, experts say pasture is prevalent over dry lotting
There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the development of replacement heifers – developing them on pasture or developing them in a dry lot situation. Out of the two, pasture developed replacement heifers seem to be more common in the Ozarks.
In this part of the country, grass is plentiful, which makes developing replacement heifers on pasture an economical option.
“My perspective is that in our environment where we have the capability to grow a lot of forage for much of the year, that’s almost always going to be the cheapest and best fit for most operations,” Andy McCorkill, livestock field specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, said. “It is generally accepted that heifers should be developed as closely to the way they will be managed as cows as possible. We do have to consider they are still growing, and they need a little TLC to meet that growth need.”
Some supplemental feed can be given to pasture developed heifers to help them along.
There may be situations where producers might have to consider developing heifers or partially developing heifers in a dry lot scenario, such as during a drought or if pasture space is limited.
“If dry lotting is a must, it’s still advisable to utilize a high-forage diet, remember, we are developing heifers, not finishing cattle for slaughter,” McCorkill said. “A target of somewhere around 1.5 pounds of gain per day is what you want to shoot for.”
There have been studies done on range development versus dry lot development for heifers. The South Dakota State University Extension Antelope Range and Livestock Research Station conducted a research project that compared how heifers developed in the two respective systems performed. The results of the study showed the range-developed heifers gained more weight per day and were heavier by the time both groups reached their target breeding weights. Dry lot-developed heifers lost weight, at first, when they were turned out onto grass, possibly due to underdeveloped grazing skills that the other group already had in place.
Another South Dakota State study conducted by Dr. George Perry, SDSU Extension Beef Reproductive Management specialist, showed that developing replacement heifers in dry lot following weaning can have an impact on their grazing behavior which can affect their ability to ingest forages efficiently during the following grazing season. This abrupt change in nutrition following breeding has negative effects on pregnancy success, embryo quality and performance of the calves in utero.
Regardless of which method is used to develop replacement heifers, most experts agree that when heifers reach 55 to 65 percent of their anticipated mature weight, they are ready to be bred. Each end of that weight range can have some different benefits.
“It is a bit of a tradeoff,” McCorkill said. “You’ll have more feed costs at 65 percent of mature weight but more heifers should be cycling. On the other hand, staying towards the lower end of the range will help naturally select the more fertile heifers in the group.”
Even after evaluating both development systems, some producers may opt to just purchase heifers instead.
“For many operations, it winds up being more economical to buy quality replacements than it is to raise them on your own,” McCorkill said. “However, there is a lot of personal satisfaction that comes out of seeing the progress in your herd over the years and you always know what you have and how the heifers were developed if you do it on your own.”
