Every year, beef producers make decisions about which heifers to keep and which ones to market. Those decisions have long-term implications for the cow herd, influencing everything from genetic progress and reproductive performance to development costs and future profitability.
But selecting replacement heifers isn't as simple as keeping the biggest, best-looking heifers or retaining a certain percentage of the calf crop. The goal is to identify females that have the genetic potential, reproductive ability and functional characteristics to become productive, profitable cows in your operation.
And that process starts well before a heifer ever becomes a replacement.
One of the most important things to remember is that a heifer developed for breeding is not automatically a replacement. She is a replacement candidate. Some candidates will be screened out during development, some will fail to become pregnant, and others may not be the best investment to retain even if they do conceive. Final selection decisions should account for the information collected throughout the process.
Start with the kind of cow you want to build.
Before evaluating individual heifers, producers need to have a clear idea of what they want their cow herd to look like. What traits are economically important to your operation? What kind of mature cow size fits your available resources? Are you retaining females to produce replacement heifers, or are you primarily using terminal sires and marketing your calves? How important are fertility, milk production, growth, adaptability and longevity?
These questions help establish a breeding objective and provide a framework for evaluating genetic merit. Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs), commercial genomic testing and economic selection indexes can all provide useful information when identifying heifers that align with those objectives.
Genomic testing can be particularly useful when selecting replacement females because it provides additional information about an animal's genetic potential. However, testing only creates value when the results are used to make selection decisions. If the same heifers will be retained regardless of their test results, genomic testing is unlikely to increase genetic progress. Producers should consider how many heifers they need to test, when results will be available and how those results will influence which females are ultimately retained.
Replacement selection happens over time.
The updated MU Extension publication, Selection of Replacement Heifers for Commercial Beef Cattle Operations, outlines three important time points for evaluating replacement heifer candidates: post-weaning, pre-breeding and pregnancy determination.
At weaning, the goal isn't necessarily to identify the most visually appealing heifers. Instead, producers should screen out candidates with significant problems related to soundness, health or disposition. Date of birth and genetic merit are also important considerations. Heifers born earlier in the calving season are generally more likely to reach puberty before the start of breeding and conceive earlier in their first breeding season. That early conception can have lasting implications for reproductive success and productive longevity.
Genetic merit should also be considered at this stage. If genomic testing is performed early, results may help identify heifers that do not meet the operation's breeding objectives before additional development expenses are incurred. For some operations, that information may help determine which heifers should be developed as replacements and which may be better suited for a different marketing opportunity.
The next evaluation comes before breeding, typically four to six weeks prior to the start of the breeding season. At this point, producers should evaluate whether heifers have reached an appropriate target weight and consider reproductive tract scoring and pelvic measurement. These evaluations provide additional information about heifer development and reproductive readiness. They can also help identify candidates that may require additional management or should be removed from the replacement group.
Finally, pregnancy determination provides the opportunity to make the actual replacement selection decisions. Not every heifer will become pregnant, and not every pregnant heifer should automatically be retained. Date of conception, genetic merit, dam performance and visual phenotype should all be considered when deciding which females will enter the cow herd.
Don't overlook the value of reproductive performance.
One of the most important considerations when selecting replacement females is when they become pregnant. Heifers that conceive early in their first breeding season are more likely to calve early, remain productive in the herd longer and wean more total pounds of calf over their lifetime. This is one reason a defined breeding season is so important when developing replacement females.
A heifer's genetic potential matters, but she also has to demonstrate that she can meet the reproductive expectations of your operation. Retaining females that consistently breed early helps build a cow herd that is more productive over time.
There is also value in considering the performance of a heifer's dam. Did she breed early? Did she wean a desirable calf? Did she maintain body condition and remain productive in the herd? Those records provide additional context when comparing heifers with similar genetic merit and reproductive performance.
Phenotype still has a place in selection, too. Structural soundness, feet and leg quality, udder characteristics, disposition and adaptability are all important considerations for females expected to remain in the herd for several years. The key is using visual appraisal alongside genetic and reproductive information rather than allowing appearance alone to drive replacement decisions.
Make the decision that fits your operation.
There isn't one replacement heifer development or selection strategy that works for every operation. The number of heifers developed, the timing of genomic testing, target weights and selection criteria should reflect available resources, marketing opportunities, breeding objectives and the economics of the operation.
The important thing is to have a plan. Know how many replacements you need, identify the traits that matter most, determine when you will evaluate candidates and establish criteria for deciding which females move forward.
We recently updated MU Extension publication G2028, Selection of Replacement Heifers for Commercial Beef Cattle Operations, to provide producers with a more detailed look at these decisions. The publication walks through the different stages of replacement selection, discusses the use of genetic and reproductive information, and includes practical considerations for genomic testing and heifer development.
If you're evaluating this year's heifer crop or planning for next year's replacements, take a few minutes to review the updated publication. Selecting the right females today is an investment in the productivity and profitability of your cow herd for years to come.
Read the updated MU Extension publication:
Selection of Replacement Heifers for Commercial Beef Cattle Operations (G2028)
