ARTICLE FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE January 2024 53 tervals—birth, weaning, pen moves, etc.—to make sure heifers are progressing toward the goal weight. You can choose to eyeball weights, but scales are much more accurate. If heifers are bred at their ideal weight, then your heifer management program needs to continue their growth through to freshening. Ideally heifers will be at 95% of mature weight close to calving (DCC>260). Once they freshen (DIM<7) they should still be 85% of mature body weight. Determine the difference between goal and actual weights and adjust by either delaying breeding of virgin heifers or increasing average daily gain. It certainly is possible for heifers to reach ideal size at an optimal age. It’s also possible to keep first lactation cows growing and developing so they can turn first lactation success into second lactation success, and beyond. But reaching these milestones takes sound management and healthy animals. The right nutrition program from birth through calving and into lactation will help heifers reach growth milestones and fulfill their genetic potential. In general, cows pay off their heifer rearing bill in their second lactation. Once that bill is paid, profitability goes up substantially. The productive lifespan of dairy cows is short compared to their natural life expectancy of twenty years. The average is very low in most developed dairy industries. This is becoming a global problem that we are seeing occur in many countries across the globe. The five key factors influencing herd parity demographic (the five drivers of the total cost of maintaining herd structure) are: 1. Calf value opportunity cost 2. Aged cow cost 3. Lack of maturity cost 4. Herd replacement cost 5. Genetic opportunity cost Normally, the idea is that younger is always better. But there is a danger if these cows never pay off their “mortgage”. Bear in mind, in the second lactation we finally break even. The breakeven point is the point at which a cow has created sufficient income from milk production to cover the costs of raising. So, the more mature animals, or what we call the “Golden Girls”, are extremely important because they have paid their mortgage and are high producing. What are the requirements to achieve these “Golden Girls”? You want them healthy, fertile, high ECM (>6lbs fat & protein/day), and we need MORE of them. Keeping healthy cows is vital as it’s one of the main reasons these older girls get kicked out of the herd. Farms decide they have issues and then they leave. However, we need to consider working through the issues and strive to keep some of them regardless. It is important to remember, these mature animals, those in lactation group three, are producing a lot compared to their competition in lactation groups one and two. Cows that live long, productive lives can be extremely profitable. It's important to maintain gut health and immunity.
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