Cost of producing dairy calves and heifers – A case study

Replacement heifers will be the future breeding stock, therefore allowing for good performance can positively impact the productive life of these animals. The objective of this study was to estimate the production cost of dairy calves and heifers in a production system located in the Piracicaba/SP region. Furthermore, the study aimed to identify the components that had the greatest impact on the effective operating cost. The production cost was estimated based on the total amount spent per month, divided by the number of animals in that cost center. After determining the daily production cost of each animal, this was multiplied by the weaning age and age at first calving, respectively. The estimate of this daily cost was an average of eight months of cost assessment, from October 2013 to June 2014. In the studied production system, the production cost of a dairy heifer during the suckling phase was R$ 857.43 (R$ 14.59 per day), and in the rearing phase R$ 4,300.14 over the entire period (R$ 5.57 per day). The main cost component was feed, regardless of the phase; in the suckling phase it was the liquid diet (milk in this study) and in the rearing phase it was the concentrate.