Better Farming | June July 2024

41 The Business of Ontario Agriculture Better Farming | June/July 2024 Opportunities Both dairy and beef producers can reap the benefits of raising beef-on-dairy calves. “For dairy producers, I think it really helps manage some of the bottom end of the herd and see the economic benefits from their offspring, with what calves are selling for of late. It can be a nice fit if there is excess barn space available,” says Schweitzer. “You get a little better money out of a beef-cross calf compared to a Holstein bull or raising too many heifers.” In the past, bull calves on dairy farms have held little value. Sexed semen already offered producers an opportunity to produce replacement heifers from their genetically superior cows. Breeding with beef semen further allows them to produce higher-value calves for meat production from animals which are not suited for producing replacement heifers. “There’s a lot of margin to capture in a 10-day-old calf,” says Schweitzer, noting that some producers have shared that calves from their dairy farms have been purchased for $800 to $1,300. He does caution that producers looking to rear these calves from birth to finish on-farm should assess whether it makes sense financially. “If it came down to raising heifers to sell for export or local opportunities or raising beef crosses, you would really have to sit down and crunch the numbers with what is going on with their respective markets at that time and look at if it fits the workflow on the farm,” Schweitzer adds. “The longer the calf is there, the more cost and labour is put into keeping it healthy. If you don’t have a good number of calves to sell to the processor, and if you aren’t going to ship a truckload consistently to a feedlot, you should ask yourself, ‘Does it make sense to build a barn?’ If you sell calves at 10 days old, you aren’t taking on more risk or more cost.” For beef producers, calves from dairy farms offer more consistent supply than calves from traditional cow-calf herds. Leighton Kolk feeds calves in his feedlot near Iron Springs, Alta. He began sourcing dairy-beef calves five years ago and increased the number in the yard over the past three years. He estimates that between 40 and 45 per cent of the calves they feed would have dairy influence. “I think the opportunities we have found are that we’ve aligned with a few American farms and a couple in the east,” says Kolk. “The benefit for us is that we can schedule them ahead of time. It’s a more constant supply. If you get ranch calves, you get a whole bunch in September and October, and nothing from January until March or April, whereas dairy calves come year-round.” For beef producers, there are a few important differences to note between feeding dairy-beef cross calves and purebred beef calves. Not your traditional beef calf As with purebred beef calves, genetics play a large role in efficiency and performance in beef-on-dairy crosses. The mix of dairy-type and beef-type genetics often means that these calves have an advantage over purebred Holsteins but may not compete as well with purebred beef calves. “Looking at average daily gain throughout the whole system, you would probably see a 0.3 to 0.5-pound difference between crossbred and traditional beef calves,” says Schweitzer, describing the calves as a ‘murky middle’ between Holsteins and beef calves. “They are just not as good at converting, so you have to feed them a little harder than a traditional beef animal.” The differences in performance are still present by slaughter and processing. “From what I understand, they aren’t going to quite grade out like traditional beef,” says Schweitzer. “Traditional beef calves’ hot carcass yield will be 60 to 62 per cent carcass, whereas the crossbreds are closer to 58 to 60 per cent, and Holsteins are between 57 to 59 per cent.” Kolk says that in terms of quality grade, dairy-beef calves tend to compete well. Reduced yield grade has financial implications for producers, particularly when efficiency is reduced. Besides performance, early-life rearing and genetics also Livestock Everyday farmers face the challenges of daily farming. Your needs change from day to day as you try to get your job done. Find all the Farms.com. Follow us @OntAg

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