Editor’s Note: This is one article in a series that is included in the 2024 Farm Journal’s State of the Dairy Industry report. The full 16-page report will appear in the May/June issues of Dairy Herd Management and Milk Business Quarterly and will be published in this space over the next several weeks. To download the full report for free click here.
With milk prices experiencing a significant downturn and input costs reaching new highs, dairy producers have been quick to search out alternative revenue streams to help their operations turn a profit. One of the most common methods has been to incorporate a beef-on-dairy program.
With diversification now a piece of the profitability puzzle, of the dairies who participated in our survey, just 20% operate a dairy-only business, meaning more than three-fourths of the respondents have diversified in some way – either with cash crops or breeding for beef-on-dairy.
With the cattle market skyrocketing in recent years, dairy producers have capitalized on higher meat markets. In turn, this has caused a multitude of producers who are taking advantage of a beef-on-dairy program to sell cross calves within a matter of days. In fact, 46% of the respondents note they sell their beef-on-dairy calves within their first week of life. In contrast, others have found profitability in keeping these calves for longer durations.
Of the respondents who are creating beef-on-dairy calves, more than half are retaining ownership throughout weaning. Other dairy producers are finding success with raising their beef-on-dairy cross animals all the way to finish, with 38% of our respondents saying they currently do so, and another 18% planning to do so in the next three to five years.
While the portion of today’s dairy farmers who raise these cross animals all the way to finish is growing, only 14% are currently selling a branded beef product. As farmers fine-tune their beef-on-dairy program, however, this branded beef market does have room to expand, with nearly 20% of our respondents saying they plan on marketing their own beef product in the next three to five years.
