The Economics of Replacement Heifers with Kathy Larson

The Beef Cattle Health and Nutrition Podcast

Dr. Kathy Larson is a researcher in the Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan. She joins me to discuss the economics of raising replacement heifers and gives some tips on heifer selection as well.

00:00 – 01:50 Introduction

01:51– 03:15 Replacement rate for Canadian cow-calf herds

03:16 – 04:14 Percentage of producers raising vs buying heifers

04:15 – 05:38 Advantages of purchasing heifers

05:39 – 06:58 Advantages of raising heifers

06:59 – 08:16 Opportunity costs associated with raising heifers

08:17 – 11:16 Costs of raising replacement heifers

11:17 - 12:48 What is the lifetime calf production you need to pay for raising heifers?

12:49 – 15:50 Selecting replacement heifers

15:51 – 18:13 Heifers born in the first 21 days of the breeding season and lifetime productivity

18:14 – 19:30 Development of a heifer raising calculator with Canfax and BCRC

19:30 - 20:15 Closing comments

BCRC webinar on Managing Replacement Heifers https://www.beefresearch.ca/webinars/managing-replacement-heifers/

New Heifer Development Page on BCRC website https://www.beefresearch.ca/topics/heifer-development/

Bull Valuation Calculator https://www.beefresearch.ca/tools/bull-valuation-calculator/