Beef bulls proving an attractive option

Proven beef bulls could produce dairy-beef calves which are worth more.

Mating more dairy cows to beef sires and rearing more dairy-beef calves are attractive options for some dairy farmers looking for ways to supplement their income.

With that in mind a farm consultant is urging dairy farmers to focus on value, not cost, when it comes to choosing beef bulls.

AgFirst Consultant and beef specialist Bob Thomson says most dairy farmers mate early calving cows to high BW AI dairy bulls, breeding the rest of the herd to service bulls or beef AI.

"When it comes to mating the balance of the herd it's possible to claw back a significant proportion of the cost of mating by selecting proven beef bulls which are easy calving and short gestation.

"We need to challenge traditional cost thinking - selecting proven beef bulls (easy calving and short gestation) could mean up to 4-5 extra days in milk and generate a dairy-beef calf which is worth more ...

"Whether you choose AI or service bulls is up to you, but breeding values should be part of the decision. I encourage farmers to explore the differences between the Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) of the bulls on the hoof and AI. There can be big differences. And buying bulls with no records is a pick and a poke so can be very risky. As dairy farmers you can choose to take some of the risk out of your business by selecting beef bulls which will generate income in three streams - easier calving, more days in milk and a high-value dairy-beef calf ... But you have to do your homework."

He said the beef industry relied heavily on the dairy industry for beef finishing cattle and there needed to be more collaboration across the industries.

"The dairy industry has grown at the expense of beef. In the last 10 years the number of dairy cattle has grown by 31 per cent (from 5.15m in 2004 to 6.7m in 2014). Over the same period there was an 18 per cent drop in the number of beef cattle. There are now five million dairy cows but only one million beef cows.

"There are currently 660,000 finishing cattle of beef origin on farms, 420,000 of dairy-beef finishing type and 420,000 which are dairy-beef bulls - that's 840,000 of dairy origin.

"Beef+Lamb New Zealand Genetics ... is investing in a dairy-beef programme which is testing and comparing established and young beef sires to promote greater awareness of the attributes needed by the dairy and beef industries ..."