The mean total cost (min, max) to raise a replacement heifer from birth to calving, assuming the same pre-weaning strategy of group housing with an automatic calf feeder, was found to be $1,919.02 ($1,777.25, $2,100.57), $1,593.57 ($1,490.30, $1,737.26), and $1,335.84 ($1,266.69, $1,423.94) for confinement, dry-lot, and pasture, respectively. Housing systems were calculated separately for confinement, dry-lot, and pasture scenarios. Management decision inputs had 3 main factors: housing type, ration composition, and labor utilization. Costs and biological responses were reflective of published surveys, literature, and market conditions. Published literature or sample farm data created parameters used in Pert distributions. An economic simulation with 10,000 iterations were completed for each situation using and PrecisionTree add-ons (Palisade Corporation, Ithaca, NY) where health incidence, commodity prices, and management variables were made stochastic. We accounted for variation in feed, labor, and health inputs and quantified the impact of these individual management decisions. The objective of this study was to develop an economic model to determine the cost of raising a replacement heifer managed in confinement, dry-lot, and pasture-based scenarios post-weaning. This study investigates the costs associated with replacement heifer management decisions from birth to calving, considering the factors of housing systems, labor, feed, and health. Pasture is perceived to offer optimal welfare and an economical housing system for replacement animals, but confinement systems are gaining popularity. A myriad of options exist on how to manage, feed, and ultimately raise replacement heifers. Replacement heifer rearing is critical for the future of dairy operations, to improve genetic merit and maintain herd size.

2Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.

1Department of Animal and Food Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.

Dairy heifer prices