The 2023 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) annual meeting had an agenda packed with presentations discussing reproductive health, new approaches to management, beef-on-dairy markets, fertility, and calfhood health effects on reproductive performance that kept the more than 200 attendees busy over the three-day event.

Farmers can capitalize on several potential benefits by strategically integrating beef embryos into dairy herds through IVF, with increased revenue at the core.

“No animal is perfect; every animal has multiple genetic defects in it. So do we, all of us have them,” Matt McClure of ABS Global stated during the Undesirable Genetic Factors and Genomics’ Role in Discovery panel discussion, held during the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) annual meeting.

The global demand for sustainable and resilient livestock systems has never been more pressing due to ever-increasing population growth and associated demand for animal-sourced protein.

If you were in need of replacements, would you be excited to buy your heifers?

By prioritizing the optimal nutrition of beef cross cattle throughout their journey from calving to consumption, the detrimental impact of liver abscesses can be reduced.

“I used to raise a lot of heifers just because it was cheap to raise them and if one didn’t work out, there were others to replace her,” Souza says. “That doesn’t work anymore. You have to be very intentional with the heifers you choose to raise.”

In the realm of beef-on-dairy calves, the presence of beef genetics imparts inherent advantages, promising greater consistency and robust muscling when compared to their all-dairy breed counterparts.