Not trying to start an argument here. Just offering another perspective.......
Not necessarily. At least, not in my opinion. The one less calf in her lifetime is a common theory, and if it works good for you do it! But its only true if you cull based solely on age. To me, a cow's "productive lifetime" is based more on the number of calves she raises than the number of years she stays here. A 14 year old cow that has raised 12 calves is just as likely to meet the criteria for culling as a 15 year old cow that has raised 12 calves. In my opinion, its the gestation, calving, lactation, gestation, calving, lactation, year after year, along with the number of miles a cow covers to meet the nutritional requirements of herself and her calves that takes away from her productive life. When you figure that one extra year to keep her as a yearling, and spread it out over 12 calves, its a nominal figure.
But, why would you even want that extra investment in her? We've tried it both ways. Even calved some at 18 months. Many of us don't have the room to keep a set of growing, wet two-year olds separate to provide them the extra nutrition they need to raise their calves and complete their own growth. We have to throw them in with the cowherd as soon as possible. And, not to mention, that extra nutrition around here usually has to come out of a sack. That's an input that we frown on unless absolutely necessary. Too many times, we haven't spent the extra money on them that they require and are rewarded by a skipped second, or many times, a skipped third calf. If they're gonna skip a calf, I'd rather they skip that first one! Its all about lower inputs for me.
I can take an open yearling heifer and rough her through the winter with the cowherd. When spring grass hits and she's a framey two year old, she compensates for her rough life with rapid gains on that spring grass, at the same time she is cycling like clockwork and ready for bull turnout. She spends all summer with the lactating cowherd while she continues her growth, with the only extra job for her being early gestation. In the winter before she calves, she has to complete the growth of a 70 pound fetus, but its no biggie 'cause she's almost reached mature size. By the time she calves at 30 to 36 months, she no longer has to complete her own growth while trying to raise a calf with the same amount of groceries as the mature cows. Plus, she is large enough not to worry as much about calving problems. She's now a cow with her first calf and living with the cowherd.
Yes, I have an extra year of upkeep for her as a yearling. But its not a year of pampered TLC that she'll brag to her babies about. Spread out over her lifetime, its not much money annually. The reward is less dystocia and better breedups in her early years, without a lot of supplemental nutrition. A good deal for me!
