DairyCo will be hosting a webinar on the economics of dairy heifer rearing with Alana Boulton, a researcher at the Royal Veterinary College, on Wednesday March 11, starting at 7.00pm.
Rearing heifers accounts for the second largest annual expense, approximately 20% of a dairy farm’s production costs after feed. Alana recently completed a DairyCo funded research project investigating the true cost of rearing dairy heifers in the UK. During this project, Alana visited 102 dairy farms in England, Scotland and Wales during spring and summer 2013. The webinar will cover:
- The inputs and total costs of rearing heifers;
- Gross margin of the entire rearing period;
- The average daily costs of rearing heifers during the three key stages 1) birth to weaning; 2) weaning to conception and 3) conception to calving;
- The most important management factors affecting the cost of rearing heifers;
- The length of the repayment period showing when the cost of rearing breaks even; and,
- The costs of mortality.
Alana is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College with a PhD in the economic analysis of heifer rearing and breeding selection on GB dairy farms and a MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology. Alana’s research provides dairy farmers with an evidence base for decision making on youngstock rearing production and health management as well as on the monitoring and evaluation of the system.
Those wishing to register for the webinar should visit the DairyCo website. There is no charge.