What’s your marketing plan for beef-on-dairy calves?

The latest market has been brighter than brilliant for dairies promoting dairy-beef crossbred calves. It’s not remarkable for these day-old calves to carry $600 to $700 or extra, considerably greater than full dairy calves.

Because the saying goes, although, previous efficiency is not any assure of future success.

“No market stays static, and the marketplace for beef-on-dairy calves is not any exception,” says Brady Hicks, supervisor of Simplot Animal Sciences. “What’s your plan to cope with future calf market fluctuations? In case you don’t have a technique in place, now is an effective time to take action.”

Altering breeding targets

The elevated worth of beef calves from dairy farms has been welcome throughout a time when margins have been tight and enter prices difficult.

Consequently, beef semen use in dairy herds has elevated vastly. In 2021, beef semen gross sales totaled a report excessive of 8.7 million models, up 6.2 million models since 2016.

Dairies have additionally elevated their expertise to provide larger high quality crossbred calves. Matings at the moment are based mostly extra on fascinating beef market traits, like progress and carcass traits, than merely offering a crossbred calf with a black cover.

Nonetheless, crossbred calves provide some challenges for the meat worth chain, together with inconsistent measurement between animals and customarily longer days on feed than native beef cattle.

“Full beef calves from beef embryos integrated right into a strategic dairy breeding program utilizing in vitro fertilization (IVF) provide the advantages of constant progress, elevated common every day achieve efficiency and the potential for larger dairy earnings,” says Hicks.

In some markets, these calves promote for $850 or extra at sooner or later of age – considerably larger than crossbred calves.

Latest analysis at Texas Tech College helps clarify a few of this distinction. It exhibits:

The researchers additionally famous that when embryo switch was used to make pregnancies in Holstein and Jersey cows, the progeny of straightbred beef genetics was extra reasonable in body measurement and wider than half-siblings with both Holstein or Jersey maternal genetics.

“This final result means these animals are extra fascinating by feeders and packers as a result of they often match higher in services and assist create extra uniform pen teams,” explains Hicks.

Market outlook

Alternatives for beef-on-dairy methods stay sturdy for the foreseeable future, particularly beef embryo-based packages.

“Since feeders and packers search uniformity between animals and environment friendly progress, they’re keen to reward dairies for these efforts, no less than whereas the nationwide beef herd rebuilds following years of drought and financial hardships,” notes Hicks.

In response to USDA’s Financial Analysis Service Could 2024 Beef Market Outlook, the forecast for fed steer costs $188 per hundredweight, a year-over-year improve of three%. Additional tightening of cattle provides obtainable for placement in feedlots in late 2024 and into 2025 is anticipated to help improved costs subsequent 12 months.

Whereas this forecast is optimistic and bodes nicely for calf costs over the following 12 months or so, when you have adopted beef-on-dairy, it’s important to have a roadmap to deal with worth reductions or the potential lack of a market on your calves because the state of affairs adjustments.

“Develop and strengthen key advertising and marketing relationships to make sure market entry and create alternatives to offset worth downturns whereas benefiting from present situations,” advises Hicks.

Additionally, always consider the standard of the calves delivered to prospects. “Choose the breeding technique that can carry you and your worth chain companions essentially the most long-term worth,” concludes Hicks.

To study extra about Simplot Animal Sciences, go to Simplot.com/animalsciences.