For optimal economic return and lifetime productivity, replacement beef heifers need to attain puberty and conceive early during their first breeding season. Significant costs are associated with development and management of replacement beef heifers; therefore, management strategies that maximize the number of replacement heifers attaining puberty before their first breeding season are vital for the efficiency of cow-calf operations. We demonstrated that fertility in replacement beef heifers was not compromised by delaying the majority of weight gain until the last third of the developmental period before the onset of the breeding season, and BW at the onset of the breeding season and weight at puberty were not compromised compared with heifers on a constant rate of gain during the developmental period. Periods of reduced nutrient intake are analogous with losses in BW, BCS, decreases in luteal activity, and cessation of estrous cycles. Persistence of estrous cycles after establishment of puberty are affected by dietary energy restriction and repletion, but may be activated gradually in response to dietary manipulation, unrelated to many metabolite changes. Reproductive development also may be accelerated with the use of exogenous hormones such as progestins for synchronization of estrous and/or ovulation. The use of protocols containing progestins initiate estrous cycles of prepubertal heifers and results in pregnancy rates that are 15% greater than untreated controls. Acclimation of heifers to human handling after weaning may also be an alternative to hasten puberty attainment and improve pregnancy rates. In both Bos taurus and B. indicus heifers, the use of acclimation techniques reduced stress-related physiological responses and increased the percentage of replacement heifers that were pubertal at the initiation of the breeding season. Incorporation of nutritional, reproductive, and stress management during the development of replacement beef heifers increases the percentage of heifers that reach puberty at the onset of the breeding season and enhances overall reproductive performance of beef cattle operations.