The conversation dairy producers need to hear isn’t always the one they want to hear.
Trista Brown-Priest, operations manager at Cattle Empire LLC in Satanta, Kan., has been feeding beef-on-dairy cattle since her grandfather retired and built a dairy in 2004. Back then, they were feeding straight Holsteins — the calves nobody wanted. The ones worth maybe $50 if you were lucky.
Today, beef-on-dairy calves command top dollar and have become a critical revenue stream for dairy operations navigating volatile milk markets.
But Brown-Priest sees storm clouds forming. And she thinks dairy producers need to start planning for what comes next.
The Elephant in the Room: Herd Rebuilding
The question every dairy producer is asking but nobody wants to answer: What happens to beef-on-dairy calf prices when the U.S. beef herd rebuilds? Brown-Priest’s answer is measured but direct.
“I would expect beef in general is kind of in a downward market for the next few years because ag is cyclical,” she says. “We’ve made our highs, and now we’re into a lower part of the market.”
She pauses, then delivers the line dairy producers need to hear.
“I don’t think that price goes back to zero like it was with Holsteins 20 years ago. I do think they’re still worth something, but I don’t think they’re going to be worth $1,800,” she says.
The target? Somewhere in the middle — a price that still delivers value to dairy producers without relying on the record highs that won’t last forever.
“Hopefully we can find some kind of middle ground in there where the dairyman is still receiving value for having those calves and for breeding those cows that way, but with the realization that we’re not going to be able to sell fat cattle for $2.50/lb. going forward — at least not for a while,” Brown-Priest says.
It’s not what dairy producers want to hear. But it might be exactly what they need to hear.
Why Beef-on-Dairy Is Here to Stay Anyway
Despite the price caution, Brown-Priest is emphatic about one thing: beef-on-dairy cattle aren’t going anywhere.
“I think beef-on-dairy is here to stay, and we’re excited about it,” she says.
Why? Because the math has fundamentally changed.
At a meeting about a year ago, an economist shared a statistic that stopped Brown-Priest in her tracks: “For every 30 additional pounds of carcass weight, we need 1 million fewer cows.”
Think about that. Cattle today are 150 lb. to 200 lb. heavier live weight than they were a generation ago. Carcass weights are up more than 100 lb.
“Do we ever need as many native cows as we had before? I’m not really sure we do,” Brown-Priest says. “Especially with how well the beef-on-dairies are doing.”
The cow-calf sector is struggling. Land is expensive. The work is hard. Herd rebuilding is slow. Fewer people want to do it.
Meanwhile, dairies already have the infrastructure, the labor and the calves. They just needed the genetics — and now they have them.
“Dairies have to have calves anyways,” Brown-Priest notes. “I’m glad that they are stepping up … to fill that hole.”
How Far Beef-on-Dairy Has Come
Brown-Priest has a front-row seat to the transformation.
Twenty years ago, Cattle Empire was feeding straight Holstein steers that yielded 61% to 61.5% at the packing plant. Native beef cattle? 64% to 65%.
Today, beef-on-dairy crosses are hitting 63% yields — some even pushing into the 64% range.
“They are just this close to being about the same,” Brown-Priest says.
The gap has nearly closed. And packers have noticed.
“When we were harvesting straight Holstein cattle 15 years ago, that was such a huge discussion about how big the carcasses were, and they didn’t fit the plant,” she recalls. “Make sure the Holsteins don’t weigh over 1,385 lb. That’s not a thing anymore.”
In fact, cattle that small would be a problem today — not because they’re too big, but because they’re too small.
The market has shifted. Beef-on-dairy cattle have adapted. And the performance gap that used to define them has nearly disappeared.
What Feedlots Actually Want (And What They Don’t)
When Cattle Empire evaluates incoming beef-on-dairy calves, Brown-Priest says the criteria are the same as for any feeder cattle: quality, size consistency and health.
But there’s one advantage beef-on-dairy calves have over many native cattle: they’re a known quantity.
“The very good thing about buying cattle from a calf ranch is that you know they’ve been weaned properly, they’ve been vaccinated,” Brown-Priest explains. “Because sometimes with native cattle, it’s a roll of the dice whether they’ve been vaccinated ever.”
That vaccination history matters. Cattle Empire can ramp beef-on-dairy calves onto finishing rations faster because they’re already accustomed to bunk feeding, human handling and dry-lot environments.
“Since they have been on feed before, we can ramp them up on feed a little bit faster,” she says. “And since they have been vaccinated three or four times, they are hopefully a little bit more bulletproof than some of our native cattle.”
But not all beef-on-dairy calves are created equal.
The Wagyu Warning
Brown-Priest offers a caution for dairy producers breeding to Wagyu: Be transparent about what you’re selling.
“Those are very high-quality animals, but they don’t gain as well. They are a little bit slower growing,” she says. “Hopefully those are being advertised as such, so that the purchaser of those cattle knows how to feed them appropriately.”
Wagyu crosses may command premiums in specific branded beef programs, but they don’t fit every feedlot system. If a buyer doesn’t know what they’re getting, the slower gain can become a financial problem.
The same caution applies to Charolais crosses.
“They’re fine and they feed well, but you just have to know when you’re running your numbers that they’re just not going to gain quite as quickly as some of the black ones will,” Brown-Priest says.
The Jersey Challenge
Beef-on-Jersey crosses? Brown-Priest is diplomatic but clear: They’re an improvement over straight Jerseys, but beef-on-Holsteins are preferred.
“Beef-on-Jerseys just don’t gain as quickly. They don’t make as big of cattle,” she explains. “And with where we’re at in the market right now, with how expensive pretty much everything is, cattle feeders still get paid by the pound.”
That doesn’t mean there’s no market for beef-on-Jersey calves — but it does mean buyers need to know what they’re getting so they can price and market them appropriately.
“Back to the transparency,” Brown-Priest emphasizes. “We need to make sure that everybody knows what we’re selling, so that way they can do with that what they can.”
The Communication Gap That’s Costing Everyone Money
One of Brown-Priest’s biggest frustrations isn’t about the cattle — it’s about the relationships.
“I feel like there’s quite a bit of division still between dairies and calf ranches and feedyards,” she says. “A little bit of tug-of-war, I guess, maybe is the right feeling, the right vibe that we’re putting out.”
She believes the industry is leaving money on the table because producers, calf ranches and feedlots aren’t communicating enough.
“We can all win together if we can just open our communications a little bit,” Brown-Priest says. “We can all focus on how we can make a good product that works for everyone and helps everybody to be more sustainable.”
Part of the challenge? Trust.
“In all businesses, there’s people that you get in business with, and you know that they’re doing what they say they’re doing, and then there’s always some bad actors,” she acknowledges. “Part of that is just getting to know each other and figuring out who’s really in it for a partnership and who’s not.”
Building those relationships takes time. But Brown-Priest believes it’s critical for the long-term sustainability of beef-on-dairy as a market segment.
What Dairy Producers Should Do Now
Brown-Priest’s advice for dairy producers is pragmatic:
1. Don’t build your business around $1,800 calves.
The peak is over. Plan for more moderate prices and treat anything above that as a bonus, not a baseline.
2. Be transparent about genetics.
If you’re breeding Wagyu, Charolais or Jersey crosses, communicate that to your buyer. Transparency protects relationships and ensures cattle are marketed appropriately.
3. Maintain health and vaccination protocols.
The known-quantity advantage of beef-on-dairy calves is one of their biggest selling points. Don’t lose it by cutting corners on colostrum, vaccinations or weaning management.
4. Build relationships with buyers.
Find partners who value communication and long-term collaboration. Those relationships will matter more when markets tighten.
5. Remember the bigger picture.
Five years ago, $1,400 beef-on-dairy calves would have seemed like a fantasy. If prices moderate to that range, it’s still a massive win compared to where the industry was a decade ago.
The Bottom Line
Beef-on-dairy calves have transformed from byproducts to critical revenue streams in less than a decade. That transformation is real, and it’s not reversing.
But the market is maturing. Prices will moderate, competition will increase and the producers who succeed will be the ones who manage expectations, build relationships and focus on quality over hype.
“Beef-on-dairy has come so far since we started talking about this. It’s impressive,” Brown-Priest says. “I’m very thankful that the dairies have kind of stepped in.”
The question now isn’t whether beef-on-dairy cattle have a future. It’s whether dairy producers are prepared to navigate that future strategically — not just opportunistically.
Brown-Priest believes they can. But it’s going to require honesty, communication and a willingness to plan for markets that won’t always look like the last five years.
“None of us want to hear that,” she says of moderating prices. “But it’s all about perspective. Five years ago, we would have been blown away thinking $1,400 was ludicrous. And definitely, it’s profit to the bottom line.”
That’s the real story of beef-on-dairy: not the hype, not the peak prices, but the sustainable, long-term opportunity to turn every pregnancy into profit — if producers are willing to do the work.
