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

Simple item page
dc.citation.issue8
dc.citation.volume11
dc.contributor.authorBoulton AC
dc.contributor.authorRushton J
dc.contributor.authorWathes DC
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.available2017-08
dc.date.issued2017-02-08
dc.description.abstractRearing 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±387/heifer with a mean daily cost of £2.31±0.41. This included the opportunity cost of the heifer and the mean cost of mortality, which ranged from £103.49 to £146.19/surviving heifer. The multivariable model predicted an increase in mean cost of rearing of £2.87 for each extra day of age at first calving and a decrease in mean cost of £6.06 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 and £288.56, respectively, compared with that in all-year-round calving herds. Farms with herd sizes⩾100 had lower mean costs of between £301.75 and £407.83 compared with farms with <100 milking cows. The mean gross margin per heifer was £441.66±304.56 (range £367.63 to £1120.08), with 11 farms experiencing negative gross margins. Most farms repaid the cost of heifer rearing in the first two lactations (range 1 to 6 lactations) with a mean time from first calving until breaking even of 530±293 days. The results of the economic analysis suggest that management decisions on key reproduction events and grazing policy significantly influence the cost of rearing and the time it takes for heifers to start making a profit for the farm.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished
dc.format.extent1372 - 1380
dc.identifierhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28173887
dc.identifierS1751731117000064
dc.identifier.citationAnimal, 2017, 11 (8), pp. 1372 - 1380
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S1751731117000064
dc.identifier.eissn1751-732X
dc.identifier.elements-id290997
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.relation.isPartOfAnimal
dc.relation.urihttps://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/52E5099FB22AA521C3E155D64B2FAADC/S1751731117000064a.pdf/div-class-title-an-empirical-analysis-of-the-cost-of-rearing-dairy-heifers-from-birth-to-first-calving-and-the-time-taken-to-repay-these-costs-div.pdf
dc.rights© The Animal Consortium 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
dc.subjectdairy
dc.subjecteconomic analysis
dc.subjectgrazing
dc.subjectheifer
dc.subjectmanagement system
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectBreeding
dc.subjectCattle
dc.subjectCosts and Cost Analysis
dc.subjectDairying
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectFertilization
dc.subjectLactation
dc.subjectMilk
dc.subjectPregnancy
dc.subjectReproduction
dc.subjectUnited Kingdom
dc.subjectWeaning
dc.subject.anzsrc06 Biological Sciences
dc.subject.anzsrc07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
dc.titleAn empirical analysis of the cost of rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving and the time taken to repay these costs
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.notesNot known
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences
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