The Power of Beef…on Dairy
There has been a huge shift in consumer attitude towards food over the past four decades. In short, today’s consumer wants to know where their food comes from, how it was made and the succeeding impact on the environment.
Two topics that seem unlikely to fade are traceability and sustainability. Large companies, like Cargill, are collaborating with beef industry partners seeking environmental benefits to beef on dairy programs. Their Dairy Beef Accelerator is a three-year program to advance research and support both beef and dairy producers to better understand the opportunities of beef-on-dairy.
According to research conducted by Texas Tech University, the sustainability impact of beef on dairy is promising, while also providing benefits to both beef and dairy producers. Initial research indicates many points, including:
- Compared to purebred dairy calves, ‘beef on dairy’ calves can provide higher-quality beef products without impacting current milk production efficiencies.
- ‘Beef-on-dairy’ calves show greater feed efficiency (compared to purebred dairy calves), which lowers the environmental footprint associated with their production.
- Increased feed efficiency significantly reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- The practice benefits meat quality. ‘Beef-on-dairy’ delivers increased volumes of higher-grading beef carcasses, providing feed yard operators more access to value-based marketing opportunities as well as pass-back — beef-on-dairy calves are more valuable in the marketplace for dairies than purebred dairy calves
“Producers are at the forefront of leading the industry as a whole, advancing both the efficiency and resilience of the food system. The beef and dairy industries have the opportunity to work together to produce even more efficient beef animals. Crossbreeding dairy cows to complementary beef sires can advance sustainability by reducing the environmental impact and improving profitability,” says Dale Woerner, Ph.D., Texas Tech University.
Milk Business Conference
Understanding the promise of the beef on dairy programs utilized in the dairy industry to generate alternative profit sources brings this pertinent topic to the big stage of MILK Business Conference later this month. Held at the Paris Hotel & Casino Nov 29 – Dec 2, Beef on Dairy’s session, “Food with a Story” will be moderated by AgriTalk’s host, Chip Flory.
Honing on traceability and sustainability revolution with beef on dairy, the “Food with a Story” panelists includes Amanda Arata, general manager of Kansas Dairy Development who oversees 65,00 dairy calves and heifers including a 20,000 head calf ranch raising dairy heifers and terminal cross beef calves in Deerfield, Kan. Also, California dairy producer, Ryan Junio, owner of Four J Jerseys, milks 4,200 Jerseys in Pixley and five years ago, to slow the growth of his heifer program and to create a new revenue source, Junio began using beef semen and making cross calves on a portion of his milking herd. Kim Herinckx, Vice President, Food Safety and Quality Assurance, One World Beef, Brawley, Calif., will also join this panel. One World Beef operates a large-scale toll processing beef slaughter and fabrication facility that specializes in grain-fed Holsteins, Wagyu, and Beef/Dairy cross cattle.
For more information or to register for the conference, go to MilkBusinessConference.com.
