Page 6 - MWC 3-9-2023s

Replacement Heifer Dynamic The Midwest Cattleman · March 9, 2023 · P6

By Derrell Peel - Oklahoma State University

Drought-accelerated herd year over year. This follows in development for breeding.
liquidation the past two a 5.5 percent year over year For the past 23 years,
years has made the beef cow decrease in 2022. Beef re- USDA-NASS has provided
herd the smallest in 61 years. placement heifers repre- a total number of the beef
With continuing drought con- sented 17.9 percent of the replacement heifers that
ditions, it is uncertain when, beef cow herd on January 1, will calve in the current
but it is certain that there the lowest proportion of beef year. These bred heifers typ-
will be strong interest in re- replacement heifers since ically make up about 61 per- 6.9 percent year over year
building the herd whenever 2012. Beef replacement heif- cent of the total beef replace- and follows a 6.1 percent
conditions permit. Leaving ers average 18.4 percent of ments. The number of bred year over year decline in
aside the question of more the beef cow herd, and during heifers on January 1, 2023, 2022. These beef replace-
drought, what is possible in the last herd expansion, beef was 3.17 million head, 61.4 ment heifer calves are as-
2023 given current availabil- replacements reached a cycli- percent of the total beef re- sumed to have been retained
ity of replacement heifers? cal peak level of 21.0 percent placement heifers. The num- from last year’s calf crop and
The number of beef re- of the beef cow herd. The re- ber of bred heifers on Janu- will become bred heifers next
placement heifers on Jan- ported inventory of beef re- ary 1 was down 5.1 percent year.
uary 1, 2023, was 5.16 mil- placement heifers consists of year over year and was the The number of beef re-
lion head, down 5.8 percent bred heifers and heifer calves lowest beef bred heifer total placement heifer calves
since 2011. This follows a 4.8 each year is not enough to
percent year over decrease in account for the total inven-
bred heifers in 2021. tory of bred heifers the fol-
Subtracting the number lowing year. Over the past
of beef bred heifers from 20 years, the number of beef
the total beef replacement replacement heifer calves
heifer inventory leaves the represents 63.8 percent of
number of heifer calves in the bred heifers the following
development to be bred this year. This means that extra
year. This calculated total heifers were bred during the
of replacement heifer calves year that were not report-
for 2023 was 1.995 million ed as replacement heifers
head, the lowest in the data
series. This total was down continued on page 16

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