Beef on Dairy
Beef-on-dairy crossbreeding has rapidly emerged as a strategic approach for dairy producers, allowing them to boost their farm’s profitability while advancing genetic progress within their herds. Explore how this growing trend can add value to your operation and position it for long-term success.
After a year learning at a North Dakota ranch, Emmett Meissner returned to his family’s Wisconsin dairy with an idea that would grow into a new beef business.
From 10 pounds of cheese per 100 pounds of milk to 11.6 pounds. From Holstein bull calves worth nothing to beef-cross calves fetching $1,500. The dairy industry of 2026 would blow a 1980s farmer’s mind.
Beef-on-dairy calf prices have fallen from their $1,700-plus highs, putting more focus on the economics of beef semen, feed costs and calf revenue.
U.S. milk production keeps climbing while softer dairy demand, higher feed costs and weaker beef-on-dairy returns put more pressure on margins heading into 2027.
The next generation wants a thriving farm and a thriving life. Here’s how to deliver both.
Beef-on-dairy calves arrive carrying the consequences of the dairy’s sire-selection policy. I sort them for what they are, not what the invoice says.
As beef-on-dairy calves are pushed for growth, zinc and copper nutrition could influence how well they respond to growth-enhancing technologies.
Milk prices are stuck, feed costs are climbing and beef-on-dairy income is facing a new round of uncertainty, leaving dairy producers with plenty to watch this fall.
From $150 Holstein steers to $1,500 Angus-cross calves: NMPF’s Gregg Doud explains how technology transformed dairy economics and why 70% adoption may be the ceiling.
Ground beef demand remains strong as cattle producers push back on Trump’s latest beef import plan that sent cattle prices sinking. Ranchers say consumers don’t have a beef price problem — they have a fuel price problem.
Farmers are facing a tougher margins as stagnant milk prices collide with falling cattle values and rising feed and fuel costs.
As beef-on-dairy income drives record herd expansion, former trade ambassador warns federal intervention in commodity markets “never works” and risks disrupting dairy’s global dominance.
As dairy farmers perfect beef integration that supplies 20% of U.S. beef, tariff removal threatens to depress cull cow and crossbred calf prices.
New research suggests beef-on-dairy cattle may deliver their biggest feedlot advantage when they enter at lighter weights.
Beef-on-dairy calf values have given dairy producers a valuable boost. But falling prices, higher feed costs and lower milk prices are set to put more pressure on margins later this year.
Traditional benchmarks fall short for Angus × Holstein crosses. To unlock their true feedlot potential, nutritionists must treat these animals as an entirely unique biological type.
From fetal programming to fitness checks, every step before loading helps determine how calves perform after they leave the dairy.
The modern dairy producer is part data scientist, part beef marketer. Discover how three top farms are using AI, crossbreeding and radical efficiency to beat rising costs.
Shift from grass-fed to grain-fed systems positions the U.S. as the world’s dairy growth engine.
A growing supply reflects industry expansion as cow numbers reach their highest levels in years.
A historic cattle cycle is opening doors for beef-on-dairy programs while challenging producers to rethink traditional herd management strategies.
From genomics to full-circle ownership, see how a sixth-generation Wisconsin farm is turning its calf pipeline into a highly profitable hedge against low milk prices.
From holding surplus heifers to double-cropping in a desert, Jason Sheehan’s contrarian approach is keeping J&K Dairy alive amid punishing drought and high labor costs.
With beef-on-dairy revenue boosting profits, analysts say producers should use today’s margin opportunity to lock in protection before markets shift.
The beef-on-dairy boom is saving producer margins, but it’s also swelling the U.S. milking herd and driving a bearish commodity market for the second half of 2026.
At Kieler Farms, beef-on-dairy is now a core piece of the business, with about 1,300 head finished each year and a system built to carry cattle from calf to harvest.
Today’s dairy producers are making every pregnancy count, using sexed semen, genomics and beef-on-dairy strategies to turn breeding decisions into more targeted replacement programs.