Win Over Your Cattle Buyer: Tips for becoming the favorite beef-on-dairy calf supplier

Milk may be the number one revenue source for dairy farms, but dairy producers are also beef producers and beef is a second avenue for income them. Current market situations including closed boarders and declining beef cattle herd size have left American feedlots empty and looking for cattle to fill them up. Momentarily the cowboys aren’t picky and will take just about any dairy and dairy/beef cross calves to help fill pens. This situation has led to very high prices for day-old dairy bull and beef-on-dairy cross calves.

We can all remember when the bull calf price was $15/head and these high prices on day old calves have been the icing on the cake when it comes to beef prices for dairy farmers but remember this situation may be temporary and will someday most likely come to an end.  When it does, you want to be on the preferred list when it comes to the feedlot sourcing calves.

Two Most Costly Health Conditions 

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) and liver abscesses are very costly to the feedlot industry.

• BRD is a disease complex involving both bacterial and viral infections of the upper respiratory tract.
  • Costs associated with BRD include lower feed-to-gain ratios, higher treatment costs, and increased mortality.
• Liver abscesses can adhere to the diaphragm and result in excess carcass that needs to be trimmed. They slow the production line and on average cost the industry $9.07 per animal. 
  • Severe liver abscesses can cause a 5% reduction in average daily gains.

Prevention and Performance

Several management factors come into play when it comes to disease prevention.

1. Colostrum: disease prevention starts on day 1, even when we are talking about health events in older animals. Establishing a healthy microbiome and facilitating gut development will protect the animal from disease later on in life. The immune system will have better odds at fighting infection, and other organs like the liver will be better protected.
   1. A second feeding of colostrum, and even 2-3 feedings of transition milk is encouraged to get the calf off on their best hoof.
2. Dipping the navel: a newborn navel is on open highway for bacterial transport directly into the bloodstream of the animal. Dipping the navel prevents entrance of these unwelcome hitchhikers and prevents all access to internal organs where they can thrive and attack the host.
3. Genetic selection: choosing beef genetics that complement dairy genetics will help animals gain in a manner where they will be more uniform at harvesting and on the rail. This makes them more appealing to feed lot owners as they are less likely for discounts on the processing end of things.
4. Feeding program: cattle from dairy origin are likely to be fed a grain-based diet 100 days longer than cattle sourced from cow-calf operations. John Hepton of Hepton Livestock suggests that toning rations down earlier in life can help to reduce liver abscesses. His strategy is to focus on growing a little more frame early on and then introduces a finishing diet later. This may result in cattle being on fed a little longer, but they aren’t as likely to be discounted because of liver abscesses like cattle that are pushed on a high grain diet from a younger age.

Application

The winning quality of beef-on-dairy crosses is that they have excellent marbling genetics coming from the dairy breeds. The negative is that dressing percentage is typically lower.

Currently, dairy farmers are receiving premium price for beef/dairy crosses with no discounts for the lower dressing percentage. This trend may continue for some time, but eventually like everything else the cycle will turn, and prices may deflate.

In the meantime, capitalize on these high prices by providing the highest quality animal you can. Continue improving your beef-on-dairy genetics, management practices in early life, and your feeding programs if you are growing cattle past the milk-fed stage.  In time your cattle will make that preferred list and you will have a reputation that will keep the buyers coming even in a more competitive market.

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Sources:

Dairy West Meeting 2025, Beef on Dairy Panel Discussion

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 7-B