Opening Summary: Every bag of milk replacer is a capital bet on your replacements—but most herds treat it like a commodity line item. This episode exposes how one 600-cow Wisconsin herd's switch to a cheaper plant-protein 20/20 replacer "saved" $286 per calf, only to lose over $30,000 in lifetime milk and delayed freshenings. Grounded in Cornell's ADG-to-milk research and Iowa State's 2024 heifer budgets, we challenge the least-cost formulation mindset and reveal the simple barn math that turns replacer decisions into profitability levers.

Key Takeaways:

• How preweaning ADG of 0.65 vs. 0.85 kg/day translates to 456 kg more milk over three lactations—and $219 per heifer in value.
• Why plant proteins under week 3 drop ileal digestibility from 82% to 62%, spiking scours and capping genetic potential.
• The three-part ROI ...