There are three basic heifer rearing options: keeping stock on the dairy farm or support block, contract grazing, or purchasing grown replacements. If you’re considering grazing your heifers on the milking platform against contract grazing off-farm, use the grazing calculator to estimate the financial impact of keeping heifers on the milking platform and decreasing the number of milking cows.
Stock on dairy farm or at a runoff
- How will the change in milk production effect capacity adjustment?
- How much will stock sales change? This may be higher in the first season but lower in following seasons.
- Will lower cow costs, grazing costs and/or stock cartage offset the lower milk income?
- Does the dairy farm have the facilities necessary for drenching, weighing and vaccinating young stock?
- Will the dairy farm’s fencing be able to contain calves?
- How will keeping heifers on farm effect seasonal feed budgeting? Young stock feed demand is constantly increasing to reach liveweight targets compared to dairy cows which peaks in the spring and then flattens off and declines through the autumn.
- How will the labour requirements change by carrying multiple stock classes on farm? g. Milking another row of cows might add 10 minutes to every milking where drenching and vaccinating heifers requires different stock handling skills and is another job on farm.
- Do milking cows get their minerals, rumensin, bloat oil, zinc through stock water? Is this suitable for young stock?
If you currently work with a good grazier, how easy will it be to find someone that has a similar standard in the future if you decide to go back? Finding a grazier that can take your stock numbers and is good to work with is not always easy to find.
Contract growing
Things to consider when sending heifers to contract grazing
- How likely is the grazier to reach heifer liveweight targets compared to keeping heifers on the dairy farm?
- Is the grazier’s land class suitable for heifers?
- How accessible will the heifers be if you want to see them?
- What is the level of service that is provided? E.g. Animal health, weighing, reporting.
If wider system changes will occur due to retaining heifers on farm, then more in depth analysis is required. Contact a qualified farm consultant or use Farmax modelling.
More information
Purchase in grown replacements prior to calving
Benefits
- Simple, no stock to manage, can purchase animals that meet buyer needs.
Challenges
- Exposure to market, biosecurity, time to source animals, ability to find genetic types desire