Getting dairy heifers to maturity is a critical time for sound and efficient feeding.

Recently I saw Holstein dairy heifers that weighed 350 pounds sell for $1,000. Since replacement dairy heifers have become such a valuable commodity, anything that will improve health performance, growth rates and maturity is highly desirable.

There have been many attempts to improve these growth rates. Most include efforts such as ionophores and BST. There is even interest in implants.

But, there is one management tool that will do phenomenal things for growth and won't cost extra money. There are no shots, implants or feed additives--only an altered feeding regimen. It's a stair-step program. The three tables nearby explain it all.

Table 1. Shows these heifers were fed from 6 months to 24 months. Half of the heifers were fed 100 percent of their nutrient requirements. The other half were fed in a stair-step program in which they received 130 percent of their nutritional requirements and then were fed just 70 percent of these requirements. They can be "stepped" back up to 130 percent and then back down to 70 percent. The step-up to 130 percent was fed for 3 months as shown at the top of Table 1. Heifers were then fed for 2 months at 70 percent. They were then fed for 4 months at 130 percent and further as the progression 3-2-4-3-4-2 (months) depicts.

So we step them up to 130 percent for 3 months and then step down for 2 months and so on. Meanwhile, the other heifers were fed 100 percent of their requirement for the entire 18 months, until they hit 2 years of age; therefore, both groups were fed the exact length of time (18 months).

Stair-step heifers gained 2.23 pounds That's 0.44 pounds more than the control, which were fed at 100 percent of their requirement.

It also shows that the stair-step heifers weighed 238 pounds more than the control group at 2 years of age. The next amazing figure is that the heifers on the stair-step program (the ones that weighed 238 pounds more) ate 2,835 pounds less feed. If we look at growth efficiency, which is the gain divided by total feed, we see a 3.6 percent difference. That equates to 50 percent increase (10.8-7.2/7.2).

The data gets even more interesting with Table 2. As the stair-step-fed heifers freshened, they gave 4,271 pounds more milk during first lactation and 3,146 pounds more milk during second lactation. Remember, when these heifers freshened they were grouped together and fed together. The stair-step program shows that improvement in gain and growth efficiency carries over, even after freshening, and even as heifers are fed as the rest of the herd. This total increase in milk yield for the first two lactations amounts to 7,417 pounds (4,271 pounds + 3,146 pounds) of milk and over $1,000 in revenue.

Table 3 explains what is happening with stair-step-fed heifers. When the feed was restricted, the growth hormone increased compared to the control. Insulin levels went down. When the stair-step heifers were fed at 130 percent, the growth hormone went down from 3.1 to 1.5, but the insulin levels increased from 16.6 to 40.2 uIU/ml. The next column shows how this affected the mammary gland. While the control group was rated at 100 percent of RNA milk tissue, the stair-step heifers had 150 percent. In other words, the same heifers that ate 2,835 pounds less feed and weighed 238 pounds more at freshening had 50 percent more mammary tissue. This explains why these heifers gave 7,417 pounds more milk the first two lactations.

How can you apply this feeding practice? Feed 130 percent of normal requirements for 3 months, then feed 70 percent of normal for 2 months. Then switch back to 130 percent for 3 months and again to 70 percent for 2 months. Start this program at 6 months of age and continue until freshening.

The only handicap is that 130 percent of normal requirements is going to be full feed and heifers won't be able to eat that much. That's why the heifers ate 2,835 pounds less feed. And, feeding this much is dangerous--it could cause bloat, founder or acidosis.

With MFA's TrendSetter SLR, the stair-step plan can be accomplished. Producers should switch from CattleCharge to TrendSetter SLR when calves hit 6 months. Feed it from a self-feeder mixed at 50 percent with corn. They will eat 2 to 2 1/4 percent of their body weight. Leave them on this full feed along with hay or pasture for 3 months. Then fill the feeder with straight TrendSetter SLR for 2 months. Following that, fill the feeder with TrendSetter SLR and corn for 3 months and keep repeating the process.

You can use commodities or a different ration mixed with TrendSetter SLR half and half. However, for the 70 percent period, feed straight TrendSetter SLR. The heifers will gain faster, eat less feed, and give more milk when they freshen.

Another way of looking at this is to say you can have the same heifer at 21 months by feeding the stair-step program as if you fed for 24 months with a conventional 100-percent-of-requirement feeding program.