An empirical analysis of the cost of rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving and the time taken to repay these costs

Boulton, A C; Rushton, J; Wathes, D C

Abstract

Rearing quality dairy heifers is essential to maintain herds by replacing culled cows. Information on the key factors influencing the cost of rearing under different management systems is, however, limited and many farmers are unaware of their true costs. This study determined the cost of rearing heifers from birth to first calving in Great Britain including the cost of mortality, investigated the main factors influencing these costs across differing farming systems and estimated how long it took heifers to repay the cost of rearing on individual farms. Primary data on heifer management from birth to calving was collected through a survey of 101 dairy farms during 2013. Univariate followed by multivariable linear regression was used to analyse the influence of farm factors and key rearing events on costs. An Excel spreadsheet model was developed to determine the time it took for heifers to repay the rearing cost. The mean +/- SD ages at weaning, conception and calving were 62 +/- 13, 509 +/- 60 and 784 +/- 60 days. The mean total cost of rearing was 1819 pound +/- 387/heifer with a mean daily cost of 2.31 pound +/- 0.41. This included the opportunity cost of the heifer and the mean cost of mortality, which ranged from 103.49 pound to 146.19 pound/surviving heifer. The multivariable model predicted an increase in mean cost of rearing of 2.87 pound for each extra day of age at first calving and a decrease in mean cost of 6.06 pound for each percentile increase in time spent at grass. The model also predicted a decrease in the mean cost of rearing in autumn and spring calving herds of 273.20 pound and 288.56 pound, respectively, compared with that in all-year-round calving herds. Farms with herd sizes100 had lower mean costs of between 301.75 pound and 407.83 pound compared with farms with

Citation

Boulton, A. C., Rushton, J., & Wathes, D. C. (2017). An empirical analysis of the cost of rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving and the time taken to repay these costs. animal, 11(8), 1372-1380. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731117000064

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 8, 2017
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 17, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 17, 2017
• Journal: Animal
• Print ISSN: 1751-7311
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1372-1380
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731117000064
• Keywords: heifer; economic analysis; management system; grazing; dairy
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1390966