The trend for dairy farmers to move away from breeding bobby calves in favour of quality dairy/beef cross calves which are fetching record prices, is reflected in the success of feeder calf sales in Dannevirke.
Calves have been in demand from rearers, finishers and the meat processing industry and with 4-day-old bobby calves fetching between $20 and $40 on the bobby calf truck, the payback for quality dairy/beef bull calves selling at $150 to $300 has been a win-win for dairy farmers, Doug Lineham, project manager for the dairy beef integration project said.
"New Zealand is suffering from a shortage of quality table beef - the national herd of beef cows is now below one million so the red meat sector is looking to the dairy industry to help it meet demand.
"That's a win-win for dairy farmers who, by simply changing their breeding strategy to include proven beef genetics, can treble their calf cheque."
Rachel Hooper, of Taihape, was at the feeder calf sales in Dannevirke for the past three weeks, buying on average 25 calves at each sale.