It is not the color of the animal’s hide that makes it valuable but the genetics under the hide that matter.

Raising dairy-beef crossbred calves is a value-added production strategy that is here to stay, and dairy producers have a tremendous opportunity to influence the success of their crossbred program through early-life nutrition.

The number of straws of beef semen sold to the dairy industry has more than doubled in the last five years, although dairy cow numbers have been relatively stagnant. So what has changed?

The dairy and beef industry can collaborate to solve the challenges associated with feeding dairy cross calves today.

In recent times, the use of beef semen by dairy herds has gained traction. Previously, breeding beef-on-dairy was typically used to generate additional income from a few crossbred calves or as a final recourse for cows with problems becoming pregnant.

Beef embryos offer value and flexible solutions for dairies seeking to add new revenue streams and diversification opportunities. But does it work as well for dairies of different sizes?

In recent years, the dairy industry has witnessed a significant rise in the number of beef cross calves being born. This emerging trend of crossbreeding dairy cows with beef bulls at a large scale has not been a linear process.

The usual suspects (expected progeny differences [EPDs], genomic testing, heterosis) were covered, as were some issues (beef-on-dairy, methane emissions, cardiac health) that may have been a bit more of a surprise to the uninitiated at an event ostensibly dedicated to beef cattle genetics.