A question came up today – are heiferettes eligible for coverage under LRP-Fed Cattle?
What is a heiferette?
AMS defines heiferette as a “female bovine, 2 ½ years old or younger that exhibits cow characteristics, that has not had her first calf or recently lost her first calf.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term as “a large heavy heifer having nearly the size and development of a mature cow”
National Cooperative Extension website: “A heifer that has calved once, after which the heifer is fed for slaughter. The calf has usually died or been weaned at an early age.”
LRP Fed Cattle Specific Coverage Endorsement states that covered types are “steers and heifers” and “cull cows”. Let’s review the definitions.
Cull Cows – Dairy cows removed from the herd and marketed for slaughter as beef, expected to grade USDA Standard or lower.
Steers and Heifers – Steers and heifers raised for meat production, expected to grade select or higher, that are marketable by the end date.
Heiferettes were not ‘raised for meat production’, and thus do not qualify for coverage under LRP-Fed Cattle.
Per USDA, 5.58 million cows were slaughtered in 2024, including 2.73 million dairy cows and 2.85 million beef cows. Opening LRP for dairy cows starting with crop year 2026 was a good first step, but we hope to expand LRP coverage to beef cows (inclusive of heiferettes) for crop year 2027.