As long as the beef market is hot, the key for producers will be maintaining the right number of lactating cows going through the parlor and ensuring the right number of replacement heifers can keep that pipeline full.
Liver abscesses remain a singular, dark cloud over the otherwise sunny segment of dairy-beef-cross cattle. Several entities are performing research to try to solve this frustrating industry obstacle.
Beef-on-dairy numbers in the U.S. will reach up to 5 million head – roughly 15% of the cattle harvested annually – as early as 2026. The sexed-and-beef model of production will play a prominent role in the process.
As beef-on-dairy animals within the feedlot system continue to rise, feedlots are craving two key pieces of information to help ensure these crossbred cattle thrive.
As milk prices continue to sink lower, more and more dairy producers are turning their attention to creating a healthy beef cross calf to generate additional income for their farms.
The High Plains Dairy Conference will be March 5-6 in Amarillo, Texas. The conference will explore alternative revenue streams, the future of exports and much more.
Four grants have been awarded by ICASA totaling roughly $1.15 million to identify why liver abscesses occur and develop diagnostic tools to enable informed decision-making to treat the condition.
Beef cross calves are currently generating healthy profits for dairies. They also are a welcome addition to the beef supply chain, according to Dr. Zeb Gray, Beef Technical Feedlot Specialist with Diamond V.
More calves born on dairies than ever before are eventually headed to feedyards these days. Performance and profitability merits sending healthy animals from the calf-rearing stage to the feedlot.
Prices for day-old beef-X-dairy (BXD) calves are often surprisingly high. But what used to be a highly discounted after-thought (straight dairy calves) is rapidly transforming into a meaningful source of production.
The beef market is sizzling hot and dairy producers have not only noticed but have taken action to capitalize on securing an alternative profit source to their bottom line.
With drought and production costs pushing the native beef population to a record low, beef-on-dairy has a huge opportunity to keep the feedlots and processors at full capacity.
Just because we have easy access to the thousands of beef-on-dairy cross calves eventually headed for feedyards doesn't mean we should be vaccinating them every week, according to Dan Thomson.
While dairy producers are rapidly embracing the concept of using beef semen to freshen their cows, the resulting crossbred calves are proving both a valuable opportunity and a challenge for the U.S. beef industry.
The increased cost associated with raising heifers has made producers retool their thinking. Earlier management decisions are happening on dairies, with a more dialed-in, strategic breeding philosophy being adapted.
With the cost of inflation impacting every corner of a dairy, the producer’s breeding strategy has been forced to become finetuned. More and more producers are keeping just enough replacements to fill the pipeline,.
