“The dairy business hadn’t been very good,” Mark Baker says. “My sons and my wife we’re all in this together, and we saw this as an opportunity we shouldn’t let pass.”
Raising replacement heifers is a long-term investment, to be sure. In most herds, the cost of raising heifers from birth to calving far exceeds their market value, especially at today’s prices.
Dairy producers have been investigating crossbred steers as an alternative enterprise to improve cash flow. There are a lot of aspects to consider before adopting this strategy.
In today’s dairy economic environment, shaving costs everywhere is paramount. But when it comes to raising replacement heifers, short-term savings could turn into long-term loss.