2 Routine veterinary costs include things such as services and supplies for vaccinations, parasite control, and other preventative health measures. 3 Emergency veterinary costs include services and supplies necessary to treat illness or injury. The four forms differ in three dimensions. Choice between the forms is influenced by the producer's and grower's desires along each dimension. The first dimension is control .
Control refers to how many of the heifer-raising practices a producer dictates to the grower.
In the middle are the per day and per pound forms. For example, the grower usually decides the rations to feed the heifers and where feed will be purchased. The producer, however, may dictate certain feeds that must be fed to the heifers. The second dimension is who bears death losses . When a heifer dies under the per pound form, the producer loses the value of the heifer, while the grower loses the variable costs of raising the heifer.