Farm Bureau examines feedlot value of beef-on-dairy cattle
More than 72% of US dairy farms include beef-on-dairy breeding in their programmes, the American Farm Bureau Federation said in a report by economists Daniel Munch and Cydney Stables. Dairy producers use sexed semen to obtain replacement heifers and breed other cows with beef genetics, producing crossbred calves with greater market potential than conventional dairy calves.
The crossbred label alone does not determine the price a calf will command. Calf raisers, backgrounding operations, feedlots and beef processors assess factors including weight gain, feed use, health results and carcass traits. Those downstream outcomes affect the revenue available to dairy farms from beef-on-dairy breeding.
Research from Kansas State University, based on data from commercial feedlots in Kansas, examined performance against that of conventional beef cattle at different entry weights. Placement weight was identified as an important factor in the comparison. The reported advantages in growth and feed use were most pronounced among animals entering the feedlot at lower weights.
At an entry weight of 400 pounds, beef-on-dairy cattle gained about 0.70 pounds more per day than traditional beef cattle. Their feed-conversion rate was approximately comparable at that weight. Across the 400- to 900-pound entry range, the crossbred cattle recorded lower mortality, although the difference became smaller as placement weight increased.
The findings indicate that placing cattle earlier could enable feedlots to capture more of their efficient initial growth. Such a management approach would require coordination between dairy farms, calf raisers, backgrounders and feedlots. The report said that stronger performance later in the production chain can support demand and market value for beef-on-dairy calves.
Beef-on-dairy animals account for more than 20% of cattle entering US feedlots, making them an important source of fed beef while the traditional beef herd remains historically small and feeder-cattle supplies are tight. The Farm Bureau said the research could inform feedlot purchasing, placement and feeding decisions, as well as management practices used by dairy farms and calf raisers.
