With current milk prices, dairy farmers are trying to lower costs, while optimizing their return opportunities. With the average cost of raising a dairy replacement heifer at over $2,500, according to a 2019 Cornell Cooperative Extension survey, heifer inventory management and raising the right replacements is a critical part of that plan.

Spring-calving cows are expected to get pregnant during some of the hottest times of the year. Heat stress can decrease the fertility of both the cow and the bull.

As ranching comes under near-constant fire for being ecologically disruptive, the FR Ranch Preserve of southwest Louisiana utilizes cattle to continue the mission of wildlife preservation and surface ecology dictated by their founders.

Almost all breeds in the U.S. today are of British and European descent, but many ranchers in Southern areas prefer cattle with some Zebu influence. In recent years, African types with less Zebu genetic influence and more Bos taurus have been introduced.