Cow-Calf Commentary for Iowa Cattleman Magazine
By Randie Culbertson, Cow-Calf Extension Specialist
May 2025
Beef on Dairy: The Australian Perspective
In March, I traveled to Bendigo in Victoria, Australia, to present at a dairy conference, Herd '25. Now you might be asking yourself – what in the world is the ISU beef cow-calf extension specialist doing talking at a dairy conference? The irony of this was not lost on me, either. I was invited by the planning committee of Herd '25 to speak about the U.S. perspective on beef on dairy and to discuss some of the challenges the beef industry has encountered.
So why are the Aussies so interested in the U.S. perspective of beef on dairy? The Australian dairy herd is just under 2 million cows, compared to the U.S., which is over 9 million. Currently, the Australian dairy industry is struggling with what to do with their calves that don’t become replacements. As with any dairy, their cows need to calve to produce milk. These calves become a by-product of the dairy industry. The exception is the heifers retained as replacements. Until recently, the Australian dairy industry had a significant export market for Holstein replacement heifers to China and Southeast Asia. That market has since dried up, resulting in a challenge to dairy producers for what to do with their excess calves. So why not use beef semen in their dairy cows to generate a calf for beef? The challenge these producers face isn't getting the calf on the ground but what to do with it once it is on the ground.
In the U.S., beef sourced from the dairy accounts for 16 to 20% of total beef production. Although the discussion of beef on dairy is a hot topic, the amount of market share from the dairy industry hasn't changed over time. What has changed is the genetic makeup of these calves. As the use of beef genetics in dairy cattle has gained popularity here in the U.S., there haven’t been any systemic changes to the overall system of raising calves sourced from dairies. The important thing is that there IS a system for raising these calves. In the U.S., we have calf ranches, especially in areas with very large dairies, that raise these calves from a few days of age until they reach a size and age for entry into the feedlot.
One of the challenges for beef on dairy in Australia arises from the lack of infrastructure to economically raise and feed day-old calves to a size and age appropriate for feedlot entry. I spoke to several dairy farmers with various experiences using beef semen in their dairy herds. Some farmers had tried beef on dairy but couldn't make the finances work when beef prices dropped. Others had found a way because they had the space and resources to get the calves on feed and could market them once they were large enough to be shipped to a feedlot.
One producer built a facility to house up to 400 day-old calves at a time and raise them to feedlot entry. It was a new facility based on operations and calf ranches they had seen in Colorado. As far as I could tell, this was a relatively unique operation in Australia. The calf rearing area was equipped with robotic calf feeders for bottle calves. They were still constructing barns and buildings, but their ultimate plan was to build three similar facilities in different locations. They were migrating to only receiving beef on dairy calves to market. The initial investment was huge, but they were in the process of locking in a large contract for their calves that would bring it all together. Is this the future for beef on dairy in Australia? Or is there a future for beef on dairy? The answer varied depending on who I talked to.
The type of beef genetics used by Australian dairies varied. Some operations used Waygu but had contracts to feed those specific calves for niche markets. The majority of beef on dairy calves were Angus-influenced. Still, there was a large number of Speckle Park-sired calves (pictured). Speckle Parks are a Canadian breed developed from crossing Angus, Shorthorn, and British Whites. The general consensus when talking to farmers is these calves transitioned well to feed, but their growth tended to plateau sooner, and they didn't finish as well as the other breed types. The transition of the Speckle Park crossed calves to feed for some farmers was a deciding factor for use. However, there was the sheepish admission by a few farmers that they chose Speckle Park for their coat color. Similar to here in the U.S., the selection of the appropriate beef genetics for use in dairy cattle remains an area in need of further research.
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