Beef cattle
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Beef cattle
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The U.S. dairy industry is moving from a focus on milk to becoming a contributor to the global beef market. By leveraging beef genetics, producers have added nearly 1 million head of beef-on-dairy crosses to the fed cattle supply annually. This has boosted farm revenues even when milk margins fluctuate.
These details come from a recent interview with Rabobank Beef Analyst Lance Zimmerman. He says the adoption of sexed semen was the primary catalyst. This technology allows producers to ensure their best cows produce replacement heifers while the rest of the herd is bred for beef.
“Today, it’s not uncommon to hear dairy producers talk about getting checks for day-old calves that are around $1,000… which is really exceptional revenue even with milk margins that have improved considerably,” Zimmerman says.
This shift has not only increased the volume of cattle entering feedlots but also the quality and viability of the calves. The “hybrid vigor” resulting from crossing dairy cows with beef genetics has led to hardier animals with lower mortality rates, Zimmerman says.
However, the success of the program has forced a difficult balancing act regarding the future of the milking herd.
“They can’t cut their replacement heifers so tight that then they’re sitting there with older, unproductive cows,” Zimmerman warns. “A lot of dairy operations… are going to be focused on short-term return versus long-run return. But they also have to think through the long-run viability of their operation.”
While the U.S. is currently on the “front end” of this trend due to robust domestic beef demand, other nations like New Zealand are beginning to follow suit, Zimmerman says. He notes that this signals a permanent change in how the world views the relationship between the dairy and beef sectors.
