Changing Demographics of the Commercial Dairy Calf Industry: Why Use Beef on Dairy?

The use of beef bulls on dairy cattle has increased in the last 6 years. In fact, beef semen sales have more than doubled. Dairyman needs to capture real value for the beef on dairy cross calf, selection of beef sires that produce offspring that complement dairy cattle are needed, not simply the cheapest black bull in the tank. Those beef sires should be selected on calving ease, ribeye area, marbling, feed efficiency, fertility, polled, and an industry preference for black hided. Even more important, the use of beef on dairy has allowed dairy producers to manage replacement animal inventories.