Producer Panel - Vita Plus

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Employee-Owned • TheSky is the Limit • Dairy Summit 2013

Producer Panel: Building the Heifer-raising Strategy That Best Fits Your Farm

Dairy Summit 2013 Preconference SessionModerated by Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator


Meet our panelists

• Dan Smits, Double S Dairy, Wisconsin– Home-raised heifers

• Chad Carlson, Carlson Dairy, Minnesota– Custom-raised heifers

• Dr. Don Niles, Dairy Dreams, Wisconsin– Genetic Technologies in Heifer Management

Decisions

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Home-raised HeifersDan Smits

Double S Dairy • Markesan, Wisconsin


Business Overview• 1250 milk cows

• 1200 heifers

• 3000 acres of land

• Double S Dairy in partnership between Dan & Steve Smits

• Double S Heifer Operation in partnership between Dan, Steve and Mark Smits

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Bringing Heifers Home• The current heifer raiser was doing a great job

• However:– We wanted to take advantage of the land base that we had

– We had adequate labor

– Opportunity to manage our own heifers

– Getting to the point where we were outgrowing our heifer raiser


Facilities - Young Heifers

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Facilities - Older Heifers


Current Performance Statistics

• 95.6% of all heifer calves born alive to the dairy in 2010 either calved or sold as springers

• Overall ADG: 1.8-1.9#

• Average age at 1st breeding: 15 months

• Average age at 1st calving: 24.5 months

• AI conception rate: 57.8%

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How is Performance Monitored?

• Weight is measured at birth

• Weight is recorded at 9 weeks when moved to another facility

• Either weighed or taped before breeding

• Weighed when they come back for calving

• In addition, health records are important information to have to determine why an animal may be undersized


Changes in Cropping/Feeding System

• Did not need to buy more land

• Specific heifer forages/feeds will change depending on the year:– Have planted rye in the fall

– Also, have utilized sudan grass, peas & oats & sweet corn silage

– Stalkage/Pea Vines

– Marsh grass/Stalklage/distillers grains

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Daily Feed Costs• Super Hutch: $2.12

• Grower Pen: $1.45

• Breeding Pen: $1.68

• Early Bred Pen: $1.50

• Late Preg Pen: $1.54


Changes in Labor

• Added 2 full-time employees– Both are considered managers

• 1 part-time employee

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If Your Dairy Business Grows, How Do You Plan to Deal with More Heifers?

• I don’t plan on growing anymore??

• May need to build facilities for older animals instead of having them in open lots


Home-raised Heifers - Advantages

• You are in control

• Maximize assets/land/labor

• Economics

• Biosecurity– Reluctant to send animals to custom raiser who is raising

heifers for multiple farms

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Home-raised Heifers - Disadvantages

• Can’t blame anyone else if something goes wrong

• Do need more land & labor

• Manure management

• Dealing with the DNR


Questions???

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Custom-raised HeifersChad Carlson

Carlson Dairy LLP • Pennock, Minnesota


Partners

Curtney & Louise Carlson

Chad & Kindra Carlson

Carl & Kellie Carlson

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Wrestling Rules!Wrestling Rules!

Photo by Steven’s Shutter Shoppe

L’il Partners


Our Mission

To Operate a , , INNOVATIVE,

and dairy.

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

A favorite Mark Twain Quote:


Business Overview• 1500 milking and dry cows

• Sand-bedded, cross-ventilated barns

• 1000 acres farmed; 700 acres owned

• 25 employees

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Custom-raised Heifers• Started using a customer raiser: 2001/2002

– Current raiser started in 2008

– Have used a total of 3 custom raisers in the past

• Sent to customer raiser at 4 months

• Paying a flat rate of $/head/day

• Custom raiser only raisingfor CarlsonDairy


Current Performance Statistics

• Age at 1st calving: 23 months

• Overall ADG: Not measured but expect an overall 1.8-2.0# per day

• Age at 1st breeding: 13 months

– All heifers bred by 15 months

• Cull Rate: Very low– Custom heifer raiser will communicate about poor doers and

decisions will be made on individual animals

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Custom Raising Reasons

• First made the decision in 2001

• Lack of facility space

• Lack of land base

• These are still the primary reasons today

• However, Carlson Dairy is building an automatic calf feeder barn to increase capacity for younger heifers


Communication with Custom Raiser

• On an as-needed basis

• Most of communicate takes place when springers are moved back home once per month

• We visit customraiser 4 timesper year– 200 mile

distance

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Technologies Used

• Heifer raiser uses Scout program

• We receive inventory numbers back on a quarterly basis

• Not using sexed semen today but may consider using it again


If Your Dairy Business Grows, How Do You Plan to Deal with More Heifers

• Process of adding new calf barn on home farm– Goal is to house as many young stock on site as possible

• May be opportunity to expand the custom raiser facilities

• Access to pasture at custom raiser which allows for greater capacity in summer months

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Feeding Program

• Forages:– Pasture utilized in summer– Haylage/grass mix; sorghum, oatlage– Small amount of corn silage– Corn stalks to dilute the energy level in older heifers

• No corn added but receiving heifers will receive calf grower

• Very few byproducts used


Custom-raised Heifers - Advantages

• Custom raiser can focus on just heifers

• Lower labor costs

• Less issues with feed procurement

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Custom-raised Heifers -Disadvantages

• Animals out of your hands and eyes

• Relying on someone else to get the job done

• Risk:– These replacements are the future of your herd

– If it is not done properly, the dairy will feel the effects for years to come


Questions???

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Managing our Replacement Resource

Mother nature makes a very poor calf manager!

Replacement Resource Defined• All heifers from birth to delivery of their first calf

• Dairy Dream’s heifer resource is $2,244,350

• Traditionally this resource is managed with numerous tactics but little strategy

• More strategic thinking could be of benefit in managing this area

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What are replacement needs?• Assumptions

• 50% heifers (n0 sexed semen)

• 100% survival rate to successfully freshening

• A 50% cull rate could be supported without purchasing additional animals

• A 35% cull rate would allow for 30% extraneous heifers to be sold. It would also allow for strategic alternatives

What are replacement needs?• Assumptions:

• 50% heifers (no sexed semen)

• 70% survival rate to successfully freshening

• A 35% cull rate could be supported without purchasing additional animals

• If 35% is exceeded, then buy replacements or, worse, don’t cull those that should be culled (Mother Nature makes a lousy heifer manager)

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Industry metrics• Stillbirths‐ 8.1%

• Birth to pre‐weaning mortalities‐ 10.5%

• Weaning to fresh mortalities‐ 3%

• Infertility‐ 5.5%

• Abortions‐ 10.2%

How high can we go in heifer survivability?

• DOA rates of 2%, calf and heifer mortality rates of 2% and heifer preg rates of >50% becoming achievable.

• We are starting to see herds with >90% survivability.

• This opens an opportunity to use innovative tactics to better manage our heifer resources

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How much excess resource?• With 90% survival, no sexed semen, 50% heifers and a

45% cull rate can be supported.

• Therefore, with a 35% cull rate, 30% of the heifer resource will be extraneous.

• How can that excess 30% be put to most profitable use?

• If my heifer resource is worth $2,244,350 I am talking about managing $673,305 for greater profit.

What options are available?• Raise and freshen all the heifers and sell more cows

for a higher culling rate and younger herd.

• Raise all heifers and sell springers.

• Cull heifers much earlier based on an established plan.

• Breed some animals for non‐dairy off‐spring

• Use some animals as surrogates for other dairy’s embryos.

• Make greater use of a strategic DNB program.

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Raise and freshen all the heifers and sell more cows for a higher culling rate and younger herd.

• Traditional default strategy?

• With good management tends to be a small difference between cull and replacement.

• Is a younger herd a problem?

Raise all heifers and sell springers.

• Common strategy

• In current conditions may be breakeven at best.

• How long will current conditions apply?

• Why settle for a breakeven return on such a large asset?

• Virtually guarantees a sufficient replacement pool

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Cull heifers earlier based onan established plan.

• What age is best to sell supplemental heifers?• Birth – low investment

• Weaning

• 5 months

• Prebreeding

• Breeding

• Springer

• The market is about $1.00/# for the whole range. Therefore, if it costs >$1.00/# to raise, sooner the better.

Cull heifers earlier based on an established plan.

• What data is available?

• Birth – pedigree

• Weaning – some growth and health

• 5 month – more growth and health

• Prebreeding – even more growth and health

• Breeding – fertility

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Breed some animals for non‐dairy off‐spring

• Beef cross calves• Potentially greater value for beef cross than dairy beef

• Greater efficiency

• Positive market due to historically small US beef herd

• Removes an animal from future replacement herd a year or more sooner than voluntary culling program

• Current Dairy Dreams program• ABS In Focus beef on dairy

• Used on cows with a DDINX less than 100

• CME Market price for 400#. $5.00 commission/head

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Use some animals as surrogates for other dairy’s embryos.

• “Rent a Uterus”

• Market appears to be $700‐$1500

• Faster return than most options

• Removes an animal from future replacement herd a year or more sooner than voluntary culling program

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Make greater use of a strategic DNB program.

• Aggressive, focused DNB program

• Examples

• >3 lact

• Relv < 90

• Mast/SCC

• Save cost of tx and higher risk of reoccurance

• This is the only tactic which doesn’t require a dry period (cost $250?)

• High value fat cull vs low value fresh cull (difference?)

• Best in a BST environment

Dairy Dreams’ Genetic Plan• All animals assigned a genetic score (DDINX) at birth,

based on pedigree

• DDINX composit of DPR (50%), prot (40%), fat (10%)

• Based on DDINX top 10% of calves are genomically tested.

• Those that remain in top are bred with sexed semen 1x.

• The top 4‐5 in each test period are flushed

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Dairy Dreams current program• 5 month voluntary culls ‐

• >1 treatment for resp disease

• Poorest weight gains

• Breeding –• Not settled in 5 breedings are culled

• Cows with DDINX<100 are bred to Angus

• “Poor” breeding cows are flagged “D”• Show up as “Do not breed if open” on preg check

• “Poor” predry Preg cows are flagged “W”• Assigned as DNB with poor start to next lact

Concluding Thoughts and Needs• All tactics require some anticipation of replacement

needs.

• Least for selling springers

• Greatest for beef, embryos and DNB’s

• A tool is needed to help track how many future replacements have been already gained (sexed semen) or lost either to random “Mother Nature” or planned events.

• Needs to be broken down by anticipated month of freshening.

• An economic model is needed to weigh these tactics under various economic conditions

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Questions?


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Upcoming sessions

• Lunch buffet: 10:30 a.m.– Turtle/Bear

• Opening session: 12:15 p.m.– Wolf

• Don’t forget to register if you haven’t doneso already– Three Clans Lobby

Producer Panel - Vita Plus

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