There is over £700 difference in the cost of heifer-rearing between the top and bottom 25% of NI dairy farms that participate in CAFRE benchmarking.

Presenting the figures at a calf-rearing event near Clogher last week, Jason McFerran from CAFRE said that the average cost of rearing a dairy heifer from birth to calving stands at £1,766.

Heifer-rearing costs for the top 25% of farms are £1,438, compared with £2,167 for the bottom-performing 25%. McFerran said that age of first calving is the main factor influencing the range in costs.

Figures show that the average age of first calving on benchmarking dairy farms is 28.3 months, with a quarter of heifers calving over 30 months and a quarter under 25 months.

McFerran said that heifers that calve close to 24 months cost less to rear and last longer as cows, meaning higher lifetime yields and lower replacement rates.

He presented figures which showed that heifers which calve down at 24 months have 3.9 lactations on average, whereas 30-month-old calving heifers last for just over 3.4 lactations. Giving an example of a 100-cow herd, McFerran said that 48 youngstock are needed if replacement rate is 23% and age at first calving is 24 months.

This compares with a 76 youngstock requirement if replacement rate and age at first calving are 29% and 30 months respectively.

Breakdown

McFerran gave a breakdown of the average heifer replacement cost of £1,766, which includes £293 for the cost of the calf and £351 for family labour.

Average overhead costs amount to £654. This is calculated by dividing the total farm overhead costs by the proportion of livestock on the farm that is replacement heifers. Usually 20-25% of total overhead costs go towards heifers. Concentrates are the largest variable cost in heifer-rearing at £191/head and forage costs are next at £132. Veterinary and AI costs come to £60 and milk replacer costs stand at £58. When £28 of sundry costs are included, average variable costs for heifer-rearing come to £468.

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