The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman. 
Calves and heifers need nutrients to grow. Although this statement may seem like common knowledge, applying it to calf and heifer programs is not as easy as it sounds.
Nutrients are valuable, which means it costs money to feed additional nutrients. Whether the nutrients come in the form of milk replacer, calf starter, minerals or forages, they all come at a cost.
Raising heifers in a cost-effective manner requires a focus on strategies to reduce the costs per pound of gain instead of paying attention to daily feed costs.
Here are 3 areas of focus to achieve cost efficiency with your heifers.
1. Calves need more nutrients to grow faster
2. Feed efficiency is not the same for all feeds consumed
3. Age does matter
