Paradoxes Associated With

The main reason for calving replacement heifers early is economics. Economic assessments (2) have demonstrated that heifer rearing cost increases $50.00 to $60.00 each month calving is delayed. In addition, older calving ages result in the need for more heifers for herd replacement. These classic concepts are presented in Table 1. Conceptually, as calving age is reduced there is a linear reduction in rearing cost, heifers required, and yearly herd replacement cost (Table 1). It is the opinion of this author that this type of economic analysis works well to analyze the economics of reducing older (> 24 months) calving ages to 24 months, but may not accurately assess the economics of early calving ages.