Mature beef cows must be fed year-round to produce one weaned calf; on average, there is
either no net change or a slight decline in the mature cow’s value for beef over her lifetime. If the
mature-cow herd is eliminated by means of having each first-calf heifer replace herself with a
heifer, every animal in the enterprise is growing at all times. With this All Heifer, No Cow
(AHNC) model, yearling heifers are bred with sexed semen, weaned early after calving, and
slaughtered before 30 months of age to produce a high quality carcass. This greatly reduces the
amount of feed needed per pound of beef produced while also decreasing water use and
production of greenhouse gases as well as manure.