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Replacement heifer cost worksheet
Add up the true cost of a heifer from birth to first calving, with every formula in the open.
A replacement heifer is one of the biggest investments on a dairy, and the cost is easy to underestimate because it is spread across two years. Use this worksheet with your own numbers to see what a heifer costs by the time she calves.
The formulas
- Days = months × 30.4
- Cost to raise one heifer = (daily costs × days) + starting value + health + breeding
- Cost per heifer that reaches calving = cost to raise ÷ (1 − loss percent ÷ 100)
The example button uses round numbers only to show the arithmetic. They are not benchmarks. Use your own records, and give home-raised feed and your own labor a value so the cost is honest.
Ask your advisers: which stage costs the most, whether growth targets are being met on schedule, and whether raising, buying or using beef-on-dairy breeding fits your herd.