I’ve always worked in the dairy business. Pat and Peggy started Sustaire Dairy in Winnsboro, Texas, in 1966. When I was growing up, my parents expected me to help out wherever I could. In 1990, I bought 17 heifers to add to the 100 cows we already had. Today, my son Garrett and my daughter Jordan run Sustaire Dairy as the third generation.
A lot has changed in the dairy business in the nearly 33 years I’ve worked there. There are fewer small family-owned dairies, more large operations, computerised milking technology, and changing consumer tastes, just to name a few. Another big change is that dairy cattle are now a common part of the beef marketing chain of today.
Most people don’t know that the dairy industry and the beef industry have been working together for years, with dairy steers being fed to cattle to make beef. In fact, the amount of dairy beef in the U.S. beef supply has been between 18 and 24 percent since 20021. So that the dairy industry can get the most out of the Beef Checkoff’s ability to promote, research, and educate, dairy producers like me sit on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), where we currently hold 12 percent of the seats.
Crossbreeding dairy cows with beef genetics is becoming more and more common as the dairy industry continues to change. Because of this, it is thought that between 2.5 million and 5 million beef-on-dairy cross calves will be born this year, and these numbers are likely to stay the same in 2032. In addition to dairy and beef crossbreds, beef is also made from dairy finished steers, cull cows, and finished heifers.
But some beef producers are worried that crossing beef with dairy could take market share away from “traditional beef.” As a CBB dairy farmer, I can understand that worry. But the U.S. dairy herd stays the same at about 9.3 million heads, and dairy farmers need a lot of replacement heifers every year to keep their businesses running. Because of these things, it’s not likely that the number of beef-on-dairy cattle will grow to the point where they threaten the market dominance of traditional beef.
Even though the trend of crossbreeding doesn’t change the number of calves and feeders in the feedyard very much, it does change the quality of the beef these cattle produce. Dairy farmers get more money for their calves on the market, and people in the U.S. and other countries benefit from having more Choice and Prime-grade beef to buy.
Also, beef-on-dairy crossbreeding can help the whole beef industry and make beef production less harmful to the environment. These results were found by researchers from Cargill and Nestle3:
Calves raised on milk produce high-quality beef without affecting how well milk is made.
Because they have more higher-quality beef carcasses, feedyard owners have more chances to sell beef based on its value.
Beef-on-dairy calves also use their feed more efficiently than purebred dairy calves, which reduces the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are released into the air.
I think that crossbreeding can be good for both dairy farmers and beef farmers. Crossbred cattle can help the beef industry make sure there is a steady supply of high-quality carcasses. And since drought and other things are making the number of beef cattle in the United States go down, we need these beef-on-dairy crosses to help meet the growing demand for beef. Also, the farmers I know who have started their own beef-on-dairy crossbreeding programmes say it helps their cash flow because the animals are easier to sell than the traditional dairy breeds.
People like me who sell cattle and calves have to pay two checkoffs: the Dairy Checkoff and the Beef Checkoff. Our contributions help with promotion, research, education, and information for both dairy and beef, which drives demand for our goods. It is important that dairy farmers have a voice on the CBB because dairy cattle are a big part of the beef industry.
Dairy farmers and beef farmers live close to each other, and we have many of the same goals, problems, and opportunities. By working together on the CBB, beef and dairy producers can continue to find ways to save time and money that will help both industries and give consumers more of the high-quality products they want and need.
