University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Eldon Cole is “looking for a few good heifers” to help beef producers improve their herds through the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program.

To help, the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program recently changed its fee structure. The enrollment fee, formerly $5 per head, now stands at $2 per head.

“Previously, we felt some producers were not willing to enroll all of their heifers, or were unwilling to enroll any heifers if they only intended to sell a small percentage of what they developed,” says Jordan Thomas, MU Extension beef-calf specialist.

“By putting more of the fee on the actual heifers that get tagged rather than those that enroll initially, we hope to get more heifers into the program in coming years,” Thomas adds.

Statewide program explained

Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program participants follow a recipe for screening, development, breeding and selection of replacement females. Since 1996, more than 900 Missouri farms and 300 veterinarians have participated, and SMS heifers have sold to buyers in 21 states, says Erin Larimore, Show-Me-Select program sale coordinator.

Through MU Extension’s educational efforts, the program focuses on better heifer performance, increased marketing opportunities and creating a reliable source of quality replacement heifers based on management, reproduction and genetics. MU Extension livestock specialists coordinate sales of spring- and fall-calving heifers.

“The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program is very good at helping cow producers add value to a weaned heifer,” says Cole, one of the program’s earliest supporters. In addition to marketing efforts, the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program offers an opportunity to learn the program’s Total Quality Management strategy to improve herds by retaining heifers they produce.

National recognition

The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program is the first statewide program of its kind in the U.S., and it remains the largest and best known.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 5,048 heifers were enrolled in the 2020 sale season, up 2% from 2019. Sales brought $3 million to Missouri’s economy, a 21% increase over 2019. Gross sales of heifers since 1996 total almost $59 million, Larimore says.

Missouri is in a favorable place to improve beef herds, Cole says. Although Missouri slipped to third in the nation in beef head count in the 2021 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service report, southwestern Missouri still reigns as king of the state’s cow country.

Some top Missouri counties ranking nationally for cows per county include:

“You might wonder why our cows numbers have slipped,” Cole says. “I think a lot of landowners who had beef cows five years ago may have converted to steer or heifer backgrounding or stocker programs. As owners get more mature, they like the convenience of not having cows around 365 days out of the year. After the February 2021 weather, more cows have probably been sold, or will be come weaning time in a few months.”

Learn more about the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program at extension.missouri.edu.

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