When looking for a heifer grower, take into account experience and credentials, says Roger Cady, Extension dairy specialist, Washington State University.
"Over a year's time, you'll have between $25,000 to $30,000 invested for a 100-cow herd," he says. "Would you trust just any stockbroker to invest that amount of money for you without investigating their track record?"
The raiser should be able to provide documentation for the average growth rate, conception rate, mortality rate and age-at-first-calving they achieve. The identification program should insure return of heifers to their proper owner.
Increasing demand for custom-raising provides opportunity for new people to enter the industry, Cady says. Often these new entries are retired dairy producers.
"Certainly, it's easy to assume that a retired producer is capable of doing the job," Cady says.
"However, this may not always be the case, especially if the former producer quit milking cows for financial reasons." Poor heifer management can be a significant contributing factor leading to dairy farm bankruptcy, he adds.
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