Cash in with beef on dairy

MADISON, Wis. — Dairy producers have been breeding dairy cows and heifers to beef bulls to manage replacement numbers and create calves of higher resale value. As this trend continues, the timing is perfect for crossbred strategies. 

“There is no better time than now that the beef and dairy industries merge,” said Dr. Blake Foraker, Ph.D., meat scientist and assistant professor at Washington State University. “Beef on dairy is as important as it’s ever been, and now is a critical time for you to understand beef on dairy in your operation.”

In his presentation, “Cash in with beef on dairy,” at the Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference March 13-14 in Wisconsin Dells, Foraker outlined traits important to beef production as well as challenges and opportunities that dairy farmers should consider to positively position their operation. 

Foraker said the beef cow inventory is the lowest it has been in more than 50 years; therefore, the market as it pertains to the beef produced is looking for as many calves or as many units as it can get.

“The industry has embraced beef on dairy, and as dairy producers, you’re in a really good spot,” he said. “The supply is limited, and the demand is high.”

Dairy cattle are not new to the beef market, comprising 15%-20% of 25 million head slaughtered in the U.S. Beef-on-dairy animals comprise 10% or more of all fed beef cattle.

“Dairy has always been a really important component of the beef industry,” Foraker said. “There are some real positives that dairy brings to the beef supply chain.”

Foraker reviewed data from several studies that showed that meat from dairy-influenced animals had advantages in tenderness, leanness, flavor and marbling.

“Dairy cattle have the ability to deposit a considerable amount of marbling,” Foraker said. “Whether Holstein or beef on dairy, a greater proportion of dairy-influenced cattle are shifted to upper two-thirds or top choice quality grade beef than native beef cattle.”

Yield grade is the prediction of the amount of product coming from the carcass or the amount of retail cuts generated, and Foraker said the shift from dairy to beef on dairy has led to a more desirable yield grade.

Beef on dairy ranks intermediate for most metrics pertaining to carcass performance, including ribeye area and yield grade.

A benefit to beef on dairy is the pace at which steaks discolor. Beef on dairy steaks discolor at a much slower rate than steaks from dairy cattle, which discolor 24 hours quicker.

“Consumers start to discriminate against steaks at 20% discoloration,” Foraker said. “It’s a huge story in sustainability in our industry. Now, you have a product that can stay in the case 24 hours longer. That’s a long time in the grocery world.”

In a study in which 450 consumers were fed steaks from conventional beef, beef on dairy and dairy, dairy-influenced steaks were found to be substantially more tender even at a constant level of marbling relative to beef steaks.

“A panel of experts said the same thing: Dairy-influenced steaks were more buttery in flavor and more tender,” Foraker said. “It requires less force to bite through a dairy steak than it does a beef steak.”

Studies showed dairy-influenced steaks are extraordinarily tender, with 95% of beef on dairy qualifying for very tender after the steak aged 14 days.

“All the way through the supply chain, you can market beef on dairy without any of the negatives previously voiced about steaks from straight-bred dairy cattle, including triangularly shaped steaks from middle cuts, like the New York strip steak,” Foraker said.

Liver abscesses are the No. 1 opportunity for improvement in the beef on dairy space, Foraker said. More than 50% of 600 cows in one study had a form of liver abscess.

This is one of the leading causes of discount for the beef on dairy model because chain speed at the packer must slow down to accommodate the additional trimming required for liver abscess, and, in severe cases, it can cause the loss of the outside skirt.

“The skirt only comprises 5 pounds of a carcass but is worth $12 a pound,” Foraker said.

Foraker said feeding a high-concentrate diet can cause liver abscesses. Therefore, nutritional management is the key component to fixing this problem.

Muscle to fat of the rib is another trait that influences carcass value as it contributes to total carcass yield.

“Muscle to fat in the rib is really important,” Foraker said. “Beef on dairy cattle can produce very high-yielding carcasses, even though they contain dairy breeding, but they need to be marketed at a leaner endpoint than native beef cattle.”

Foraker said muscling of the round is probably the most important metric.

“If you want to optimize cutout value of dairy-influenced cattle, select for considerable muscling in the round,” he said. “Dairy cattle are especially deficient in that location.”

The difference between beef and straightbred dairy in cutout value is $11 per hundredweight, which Foraker said is almost the same difference between high-yielding and low-yielding beef on dairy cattle.  

“As we move into an era where cow numbers start to replenish, you want to ensure that your beef on dairy calves are not the first to get docked in the beef marketplace,” Foraker said. “Beef on dairy calves can be just as competitive for certain metrics when selected for traits that are important to the supply chain. We can continue to do better by strategically testing for those animals in your mating system that are best optimized for the beef industry.”

When deciding what to breed dairy cows to in order to maximize quality beef traits, Foraker said to look past breed and focus on individual bulls.

“On average, certain breeds have advantages over other breeds for certain traits; however, the beef-on-dairy mating system allows for producers to focus more strategically on traits important to terminal beef production,” Foraker said. “Within every single breed, there are outstanding sires that are great complements to Holstein, Jersey, etc. There are premiums in the marketplace for cattle with black hides, but is black-hided of value to you? Choose the sire, and pay less attention to the breed.”