42 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | June/July 2024 influence the behaviour and health of dairy-beef calves. Kolk suggests that crossbreds tend to retain more Holstein personality. “They act more like Holsteins. They wreck stuff, eat dirt, chew on wires, unlock fences – they are bad actors,” says Kolk, who also notes a few more health issues. “For most of the beef calves we buy, they are still raised out on pasture. They calve in the spring and live in the open air until they are weaned, and then we buy them. If one gets pneumonia, it’s not all of them; it’s just the one. Whereas with Holsteins, they are so used to all being in small hutches. “They tend to get more pneumonias. We get a higher percentage of chronic cases that show up in these calves raised in confinement. There are more challenges with them than ranch-direct beef calves.” Schweitzer adds that processors are also seeing a higher incidence of liver abscesses in dairy-beef calves. “Anecdotally, they look like they probably sort more. I don’t know if that leads into the increased number of abscesses, but it is interesting to see the differences,” says Schweitzer. This reflects Kolk’s observations of more behaviours that would be typical for dairy-type calves. The differences observed in dairy-beef calves relative to purebred beef calves still mark an improvement over purebred dairy calves entering the beef production stream. They also create greater opportunity for dairy farmers to find value in non-replacement calves. These calves also have a function in maintaining the competitiveness of the beef industry. Fitting into the industry Many producers have questions about the impact of rising dairy-beef numbers on the beef industry. Despite lower purchase prices for crossbred calves relative to pure beef calves, challenges with performance and health result in a general feeder preference for purebred beef calves. It is still valuable to have access to dairy-beef calves to occupy Ontario feedlot spaces. “The 40-year trend is that the Canadian cow-calf herd is declining, and I don’t see that reversing,” says Kolk. “If we thought the cow herd was going to expand, I would say maybe there was a small competition element that would hurt the rancher. “But because I think the cow herd will maintain or decline over coming years, these calves are allowing feedlot beef producers to be able to stay in business because they can still fill pens with something.” Kolk explains that this prevents feedlots from going out of business due to competition over insufficient numbers of Because the World’s Best Farmers Deserve the Hardest-Working Farm Magazine. Your ‘Better Farming’ Crop Advisor Team Bringing Ontario’s crop farmers the best advice & insight, for 25 years now. Patrick’s column has run in Better Farming since its launch in 1999. He is a member of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame who has been a widely respected crop specialist for some 50 years. Patrick helped introduce the Certified Crop Advisor program in Ontario and helped establish the reduced tillage and soil conservation movements here. Pat continues to offer controversial and innovative ideas to encourage cash-croppers to think creatively to solve problems. Noted for teaching precision farming and 4-R Nutrient Stewardship, Dale’s “Yield Matters” has been in Better Farming since the beginning. He’s a member of the Ontario Ag Hall of Fame and was instrumental in bringing the Certified Crop Advisor program here. Dale began developing the digital ag strategy in 1993 to launch the precision ag movement in Ontario and emphasized capturing and analyzing field data. In 2016 he was named International CCA of the Year. Paul is an area agronomist with Corteva Agriscience and writes a regular agronomy and cash-cropping feature in Better Farming. Ontario agriculture is his passion and he has a strong reputation for helping cash-croppers solve problems through innovation, data analysis and informed management practices. His research has included corn population, fungicide, soybean row width/population and fertility work. Paul was the 2023 Ontario CCA of the Year Award winner. DALE COWAN PAUL HERMANS PATRICK LYNCH It’s Farming. And it’s Better. Livestock
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3