I copied this from a friend's sale catalog, but I agree with what he was saying.
"When is it going to be
enough?" It's human nature to think that bigger is better, but when will we be satisfied?
If those heifers weighed 1,200-1,300 pounds at a year of age, they would weigh between
1,850 and 2,000 pounds as mature cows. At what weight do your cows offer the best
returns? The most common answer I get is around 1,150-1,300 pounds, so that at a year
of age, your replacement heifers need to be around 750-850 pounds. I did a little figuring:
at a year of age if a heifer weighs 950 pounds, she will mature at over 1,450 pounds.
If she weighs 1,050 pounds, she will mature over 1,600 pounds. Like I said, it's something
to think about. What is required of a first calf heifer after she calves? She needs to
do two things: raise her calf and breed back early. If she is late breeding back after her
first calf, typically it takes a few years to get her back in the front of the calving, if ever.
If she has the right growth curve (fast early growth and then shut it off), this can hap-
- 25 -
pen consistently. If she has an extended growth curve, then she is trying to grow herself,
feed her calf, and breed back (hopefully early) at the same time. Something has to give,
and she will take care of her requirements first. Either we will get an open in the fall, real
late breed back, or a dud of a calf. We know that the females that are the most profitable
are the ones that each and every year calve at the front of the herd. An extra 20 days
on a calf is a lot when we get ready to sell it in the fall. It can be the difference between
a profitable year or not. One thing that I feel is really important when selecting your
replacement heifers is to make sure that their mother has calved early each year. I have
noticed in our herd that this trait is very heritable and valuable.
"When is it going to be
enough?" It's human nature to think that bigger is better, but when will we be satisfied?
If those heifers weighed 1,200-1,300 pounds at a year of age, they would weigh between
1,850 and 2,000 pounds as mature cows. At what weight do your cows offer the best
returns? The most common answer I get is around 1,150-1,300 pounds, so that at a year
of age, your replacement heifers need to be around 750-850 pounds. I did a little figuring:
at a year of age if a heifer weighs 950 pounds, she will mature at over 1,450 pounds.
If she weighs 1,050 pounds, she will mature over 1,600 pounds. Like I said, it's something
to think about. What is required of a first calf heifer after she calves? She needs to
do two things: raise her calf and breed back early. If she is late breeding back after her
first calf, typically it takes a few years to get her back in the front of the calving, if ever.
If she has the right growth curve (fast early growth and then shut it off), this can hap-
- 25 -
pen consistently. If she has an extended growth curve, then she is trying to grow herself,
feed her calf, and breed back (hopefully early) at the same time. Something has to give,
and she will take care of her requirements first. Either we will get an open in the fall, real
late breed back, or a dud of a calf. We know that the females that are the most profitable
are the ones that each and every year calve at the front of the herd. An extra 20 days
on a calf is a lot when we get ready to sell it in the fall. It can be the difference between
a profitable year or not. One thing that I feel is really important when selecting your
replacement heifers is to make sure that their mother has calved early each year. I have
noticed in our herd that this trait is very heritable and valuable.
