Alan and Charlotte Heim, Bismarck, N.D., have carved out a niche in the beef business. They custom-develop and breed replacement heifers.

The business grew out of their personal heifer calving disaster.

REPLACEMENT EXPERTS: Alan and Charlotte Heim custom-raise replacement beef heifers and have developed a set of effective feeding, breeding and handling practices.

Five years ago, the Heims started Heim Cattle Co., Bismarck, N.D. They bought 100 acres of grass. Alan, who grew up on a cattle and grain operation near Edgeley, N.D., worked in town for a utility company. Charlotte, who grew up on a farm near Tintah, Minn., and was a University of Minnesota animal science graduate, taught at Bismarck State College and home-schooled Chase, now 13, and Faith, now 11. They were running a few stock cows, but they wanted to grow their business. So they bought 100 bred heifers at several livestock auctions.

“We were told they had been bred to ‘easy-calving’ bulls,” Charlotte says, rolling her eyes and making quote marks with her fingers.

The Heims ended up pulling 52 calves. Actually, Charlotte and their children pulled most of them since Alan was working off the farm during the day. He handled the night shift.

The bred heifers that arrived at the Heim ranch were fed a balanced ration, but they were purchased late in their third trimester. Nutrition and sire selection caused the calving difficulty.

“We figured there had to be a better way [to raise bred heifers]. We had to get out in front of this,” Alan says.

Rather than buying bred heifers at a sale barn again, the Heims decided to buy and raise their own replacement heifers from a reputable ranch in Solen, N.D., breed them to proven easy-calving bulls and sell them by private treaty.

FAMILY BIZ: Raising replacement heifers is a family affair for Alan and Charlotte Heim and their children, Chase and Faith.

Their customers especially liked the condition of the bred heifers. Some asked the Heims if they would take their replacements and develop them.

“They didn’t want to do the work of feeding and breeding heifers anymore, but they wanted to keep building on their cow herd’s genetics,” Charlotte says.

The business grew quickly. Today, the Heims have a new 999-head feedlot that is full most of the year. They custom-develop heifers for several clients, and they continue to develop and sell bred heifers from their own and others’ herds.

The Heims have devised a heifer development program that works well for them. Their artificial insemination pregnancy rate has been higher than the industry average.

The Heims say some of the keys to their program are:

HEALTHY HEIFERS: Red Angus replacement heifers get special, individual treatment at the Heim Ranch.

Slow rate of gain. The industry’s rule of thumb is that replacement heifers need to weigh 60% to 65% of their mature weight when they are bred. The Heims weigh the heifers when they arrive and figure out what kind of ration they need to be fed to reach the proper weight by the target breeding date. However, under no circumstances do they want heifers to gain more than 1.5 pounds to 2 pounds per day. If they don’t grow slowly, they get too fleshy. The conception rate and future milk production may be reduced significantly.

Best rations. The Heims feed a total mixed ration of forage, distillers grain, ag processing byproducts and 100% chelated minerals. They test every load of feed they purchase for energy and protein content to ensure proper daily rate of gain. They also test their water for nitrate, sulfate, sodium, iron and other trace mineral content that might interact with their feedstuffs. Alan watches feed prices closely and suggests alternative feedstuffs to reduce ration costs. Charlotte, who is studying for her master’s degree in animal science from NDSU, formulates rations and calculates costs. They brainstorm their ideas with Warren Woroniecki, a nutritionist at Prairie Nutrition Center in Hebron, N.D., to double-check each ration. Each pen may get a different ration and the rations may change from time to time to meet the heifers’ nutritional needs. “Alan is great at reading cattle condition scores,” Charlotte says. “He can tell whether the rations to need to be tweaked to give them a little more or a little less.”

AI protocol. They use a two-week CIDR synchronization. The two-week protocol works well for their situation, so the heifers have an opportunity to flesh appropriately and get used to their surroundings before they are bred. A CIDR (controlled internal drug release) is carefully placed in the heifer’s uterus for 14 days. It contains the hormone progesterone. Progesterone stops all reproductive activity in the heifer. When the CIBRs are removed, it causes the heifers to cycle at the same time. Sixteen days later, a shot of prostaglandin is given, and the heifers come into their second heat cycle. Sixty-six hours later they are AI’d, and a shot of GnRH is given at the same time. GnRH helps the heifer to produce a hormone called FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). It stimulates the growth, development and function of the follicle. 

Low-stress handling. Replacement heifers are handled five to seven times, and they must be handled gently. Stressed heifers don’t conceive as readily as relaxed ones, Alan says. When heifers settle in at the feedlot, the Heims get them used to being around people. Alan, Charlotte and/or their children walk or ride through the pens daily. When they have to work the heifers, they move them slowly and quietly. The Heims work cattle in an outdoor arena protected by a shelterbelt. Equipment includes a Silencer working chute with double alleys, which allow heifers to approach the chute side by side. Alan built a Bud Box to replace the conventional crowding tub. A Bud Box allows a heifer to follow its instinct to get out of an enclosed area by going back the way it came in. The Bud Box leads them to the double alley.

“I had seen a lot of videos and read a lot articles about the Bud Box, but the first time we used it, I was shocked at how well it worked,” Alan says. “The four of us gave shots to 500 head in a few hours. It was low stress on the heifers and us.”

Rewarding enterprise
Raising replacement heifers is especially satisfying for the Heims.

“We like helping people improve their herds,” Charlotte says. “It is very rewarding to be part of their team.”

BUNK TRICK: The Heim family walks down the center feeding alley. Feed bunks face the alley not only for feeding efficiency, but also so new heifers find feed quickly when they arrive on-site. Because heifers are curious herd animals, they will come to the bunk to look across to see heifers in the pens opposite them.