By Matt Stockton and Randy Saner What is a respectable value to pay for a beef replacement heifer for the coming 2018-2019 production season? Like many decisions, this can be complicated by many factors.
It is important to have a handle on these factors to make the best production and business choices for success of the ranching operation. The University of Nebraska Beef Economics team has made some preliminary forecasts of heifer values using available projected price and costs scenarios.
When buying replacement heifers, many factors should be considered. Three primary factors need to be carefully considered when making a cow purchase decision:
• The purchased/grown replacement cow’s ability to stay in the herd as a productive unit (longevity)
• Current and future expected difference between costs and revenues (calf price and costs differences over the cow’s productive life)
• Genetic compatibility with herd mates and the operator’s goals and management style
Since it is difficult to anticipate and quantify all the possible conditions, types and choices that might occur in the future, five general cost scenarios and three herd types were used to create a total of 15 forecasts. Factors left to be considered by the buyers are related to other variables such as genetics and management style.
