SG_USA_October_2020

COULD CUSTOMHEIFER DEVELOPMENT BE A GOOD OPTION FOR YOU? SANTA GERTRUDIS Product ion

Randy L. Stanko, Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Kingsville S everal articles on custom heifer development have appeared in the beef press this year. I thought it might be good to summarize this

sures; better facilities in which to develop heifers; and the luxury of having the heifers AI’d to the bull of choice without the purchase of a semen tank, AI equipment, and time and money dedicated to estrus detection or synchronization of estrus protocols. Many custom heifer-development programs/facilities exist within the major beef production states. Some programs are privately owned, whereas others are state Extension spon- sored or are housed at an agriculture university. Contact your local Extension agent or regional Extension livestock special- ist to locate a program near your ranch. If you are interested in custom heifer development, I would suggest selecting a location similar to your own environ- mental conditions. Forage-based programs, in my opinion, would be preferred over a yard-based program. However, both types of facilities do a great job developing replacement heifers. Some programs charge a fee based on body-weight gain, based on a head-per-day basis or a simple all-inclusive flat rate fee. Most important, shop around, even if the location is further from your ranch, and ask many questions. Some programs collect detailed data (including behavioral) for educational purposes, while others may not. Discuss experiences with repeat customers, specifically, producers from your region who raise cattle of similar type. Inquire about the facility’s specific herd health and de-worming requirements. Last, discuss your own breeding program and goals to ensure custom-developed heifers will calve well before the mature cow herd and to bulls of your choosing. In the era of uncertainty and ever-increasing production costs, it may behoove us to do what we do best and hire a professional to help us get other tasks accomplished – if it can be done in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

topic and consider the options and benefits. Custom heifer development (off ranch and professionally man- aged) is not a novel concept as it has been available for about 30 years. Kansas State University Research and Extension initiated such programs to improve estrus synchronization and

reproductive performance of beef heifers. Extension Special- ist Patsy Houghton, a trained nutritionist and reproductive physiologist, established the very first professional heifer development yard in 1990 – Heartland Cattle Company at McCook, Neb. The original idea was for ranchers to turn over complete control of replacement heifer development to someone else, a professional. Management of both the nutritional and repro- ductive aspects was the goal. Houghton is a true pioneer of commercial heifer development programs. Ranchers were convinced of the idea and became return customers once they realized an 8 percent increase in heifer retention up to their third calving. The Heartland Cattle Company sold in 2018 yet is still in operation. I encourage you to visit the website, www.heartlandcattle.com . There are many reasons a beef cattle producer might want to consider having someone else custom develop their replacement heifers. This includes not having the time or energy to deal with the additional management that replace- ment heifers require, not wanting to purchase heifer bulls or implement an artificial insemination (AI) program and, most important, not spending additional resources and grass on females that will not produce a saleable product for at least 22 months. Proponents of professional heifer development suggest that rather than using resources for “at-home” heifer develop- ment, beef producers could increase the number of mature, bred cows maintained at the ranch. The extra income gener- ated from the additional weaned calves sold will help offset the costs of custom developing replacement heifers. For smaller beef herd producers, custom heifer develop- ment may be even more appropriate for multiple reasons: having the added benefit of perhaps better weight-gain per- formance; collection of basic (or detailed) performance mea-

George West, Texas (361) 566-2244 lacampanaranch.com campana@granderiver.net

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