Raising or Buying Heifers, What’s The Most Economical? – Ag Matters

It's like the chicken or egg question, "which came first?" Is raising your own dairy heifers, less expensive than buying them? Bonnie Collins at Cornell Cooperative Extension has some tips on putting pencil to paper.

The cost of raising dairy heifer replacements represent 20 to 25 percent of the total cost of milk production. The Economics of raising dairy heifers, whether custom or home raised, will provide opportunities for producers to identify cost-saving in this area.

Jud Heinrichs of Penn State University says a 2011 survey found the total costs to raise a heifer from birth until freshening ranged from $1,100 to $2,500, with herds ranging from 38 cows to 1,708 cows.  He developed a spreadsheet to determine the actual cost of raising a replacement heifer on any dairy operation. Here's the data you'll need to know: feed, labor, breeding, vet and Medical, bedding, overhead expenses, owners draw, and principal and interest. Here's the spreadsheet.

A good rule of thumb for calculations is taking the estimated cost of raising heifers for a 24 month period.  Figure feeding around six tons of dry matter, facilities and equipment, plus labor on average would put the cost at $2.73 per head per day.

In separate studies from Cornell University, North Dakota State University, and Penn State University; the largest expense is feed costs, representing 40% to 53% of the raising cost. Labor the second largest expense representing 12% to 14% of the raising cost. Interest on investment is the next largest expense at 7% of the total, followed by bedding costs and building ownership costs, both at 5%.

Here's some places to get more information, Dairy Herd Management, North Dakota State University Extension Service, and Cornell University.

SOURCE:  Cornell Cooperative Extension Bonnie Collins