Moving heifers to a grower reduces manure at the producer's locale, especially if the milking herd and heifers are housed at the same site. Eliminating heifer manure reduces inflows into the producer's manure storage system, reducing the number of times the storage must be emptied during a year. Moreover, the grower may be better able to use manure for crop production than the producer. Motives of the Grower Growers want to generate income by raising heifers for producers. The income needed by the grower depends on the situation.
Some growers have existing facilities that are usable for raising heifers.
These individuals may view contracting as a way of using existing facilities to supplement their income. Other growers may wish to make heifer raising an important income generator. These individuals may invest in facilities to increase the size of the heifer-raising enterprises. Two factors affect the returns of the grower and should therefore be considered when deciding the payment provisions of the contract. The first is the number of heifers to be raised.