Replacement Heifers

Every year we go through the same process of trying to figure out whether we want to keep or buy replacement heifers. The same arguments always seem to come up with the main one being you can't beat heifers you keep out of your own herd. At the time this statement seems reasonable but replacement heifers can become quite an expense after a short period of time. You raise these heifers from birth and have to feed them for two years before they even have a calf and then have to wait another six months to sell a calf and make some kind of profit. Heifer bulls are now rising in popularity which has driven the price way up putting even more costs into those heifers. Once this is all done you then have one or two heifers that don't breed or lose calves so you end up selling them after you have kept them all this time. After you take all of this into account it is becoming harder for me to believe that keeping your own heifers is worth it because I didn't even consider the opportunity cost you absorb while working with these heifers. According to Patrick Gunn, Iowa State University Extension cow-calf specialist, many factors can come into play when deciding to keep or buy replacement heifers and Ag Decision Maker can help sort out those factors but buying is starting to become a more attractive alternative. I strongly agree with this statement because it takes a lot of risk out of your operation and you can find heifers that will match your quality if you look hard enough. Overall, I believe the deciding factor on whether to keep or buy replacement heifers depends on how attached you are to the heifers and your financial situation.  

(Replacement Heifer Cost Chart: By Hoards)