Consumers are asking more than “Where’s the beef,” the original slogan for the fast-food chain, Wendy’s, that debuted in the early 1980s. Today, consumers want to know where a piece of beef came from and the story behind it.
With the demand for beef up, more dairy producers are crossbreeding poor genetic or less productive cows with beef semen. This isn’t something new, as producers have increased beef genetics usage for various reasons. But over the past few years, dairy semen sales have idled, while domestic beef sales have exploded. A 2020 survey shared by Justin Waggoner, a Kansas State University beef cattle specialist, documents that mating beef bulls to dairy cows has essentially doubled from 2015 to 2019.
Three panelists — Ryan Junio, dairy producer; Amanda Arata, calf ranch manager, and Kim Herinckx, a packer representative, spoke at the 2021 Milk Business Conference in Las Vegas regarding beef on dairy.
On the Farm
Like many producers, sexed semen proved successful, creating a plethora of replacement heifers for Ryan Junio of Four J Jerseys in Pixley, Calif. Seven or eight years ago, he introduced beef into his breeding program to essentially maintain the size of his Jersey herd.
Initially, Junio notes his beef program was swayed by the market; he used Wagyu, Charolais and Angus breeds. A couple years ago, though, he saw the writing on the wall from his local buyer.
“If we wanted to stick around the beef game, we needed to
start making a purebred beef calf,” Junio explains.
Currently, 250 Angus calves hit the ground monthly at Four J Jerseys. They use 90% of their 4,000-head milking herd as recipients for purebred Angus embryos that Junio then sells as day-old calves. Making the switch from AI to beef embryos has allowed Four J to maintain herd size while using sexed semen on youngstock and reserving the top 10% of the milking herd based on elite genetics for AI or Jersey embryo transfers (ET).
“Now we use the bottom 90% of our own milking herd to make purebred Angus calves,” Junio notes.
Even during the hot California summers, Junio says the success rate in terms of conception is comparable between ET and AI, both hovering around 50% to 58%.
“The downfall is the abortion rates,” he adds. “The abortion rates are a little bit higher on the ET program versus AI”
Because birth weights are higher on the beef/Jersey cross calves, Junio changed course and began only using Charolais beef semen on older cows, as it wreaked havoc on their virgin heifers.
Another drawback of the ET program is the varying calf sizes.
“Originally we could see calving and birth weight numbers on the sires, but we didn’t have anything on the donor dam,” he shares.
Junio now works with a partnership that can provide genetic information on both the sire and donor dam, which he says has made a world of difference.
“Calving ease is no longer an issue,” he remarks.
The Calf Ranch
As general manager of Kansas Dairy Development (KDD) located in southwest Kansas, Amanda Arata oversees more than 65,000 heifers in a custom facility. KDD also takes terminal crosses if the calf has a place to go after six months of age. Later this year, KDD will bring its first beef embryo calves through its system.
“Up to this point, we have worked with evolving crosses, but we are expecting several hundred to start showing up here this spring,” Arata says.
From dairy to beef to ET calf, KDD focuses on the best care for high-performing calves. Arata says survivability of transfer from the dairy to the calf ranch is good and most calves enter their system around one day of age.
Data is collected before the calf arrives at the ranch for a baseline. From there, Arata says they compile an immense amount of data while the animals are in their care, which is then relayed back to the dairies.
“The dairies use this information on how calves were fed out to make breeding decisions,” she says.
Arata says dairies always go the extra mile. “Each dairy has invested in their genetics for a long period, and they know what is of important value,” she adds.
First 24 Hours Makes the Difference
Dairies have high expectations for calf ranches such as KDD, and Arata says constant communication is vital. No two dairies operate the same, so individual calf care is critical the first 24 hours after birth before it arrives at the calf ranch, she adds.
Arata says the following is vital for the calf to have a good start before it is transported to the calf ranch:
> Clean calving area.
> Receive quality colostrum.
> Solid vaccination program for the dam.
> Ensure the calf is warm and dry.
> Have had several feedings in it before it is transported.
Once the calf arrives to the ranch, KDD shares all those data points. Arata says the data collected on that individual calf, the day it entered in the KDD system and continued data points are tracked and traced, like rate of gain and health data.
Packer and Feedlots
Kim Herinckx is the vice president of food safety and quality for
One World Beef, the largest scale slaughter processing facility in southern California. They prominently handle dairy or dairy influenced cattle and specialize in grain-fed Holsteins, Wagyu and beef/dairy cross cattle. They are the second-largest exporter to Japan, Chile and China.
Many feedlots that funnel into One World Beef are located within 80 miles, although some cattle come from Colorado, Kansas and Texas. Regardless of where the cattle originate, Herinckx says the communication between the packer and feedlot is constant, with daily communication and frequent site visits to ensure quality and data points. She says their favorite crop coming through the pipeline right now is the Jersey/Charolais cross.
“This cross upgrades the Jersey exponentially,” she explains. “Muscle marbling to durability to performance in the Southwest heat is impressive.”
Genetics can improve a lot with crossbreeding, but feeding an animal correctly is also very important, Herinckx says.
“The problem we’re running into is that some traditional feedlots get black cross animals in, and they are feeding them like a traditional black animal, and it simply doesn’t work,” she says.
During meetings with the rendering division, Herinckx says one comment that has stuck with her, and she believes is a takeaway for every producer to remember is, “If you want value out of your byproducts, you have to stop treating them like a byproduct.”
Creating a syncretistic relationship with the dairy producer can help develop a brand program, Herinckx notes, and help it go from a byproduct to a go-to product. She notes this is a fundamental shift.
Dairy has always been the winner when it comes to addressing consumers’ demands. Beef on dairy extends that winning streak by helping meet the world demand for beef and providing the necessary traceability from the dairy farm to the calf ranch to the feedlot to the packing house, which answers “Where’s the beef” and more.
