At no time in the history of livestock agriculture have producers been more efficient at producing beef than they are now. Just in the last half-century, global beef production has nearly doubled, despite a historically small herd size.

Recent research suggests that beef-on-dairy steers fed a low-starch total mixed ration at a younger age will continue to increase in feed intake and growth longer than those receiving different diets. 

As cattle producers explore avenues for boosting productivity, the spotlight often shines on genetics. For crossbred beef-on-dairy calves, maximizing genetic potential goes beyond selecting the right genes – it is also about creating the right environment to allow those genes to fully express.

Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) brought producers, academia and industry experts together for discussions, presentations and panels Nov. 12-14 at the 2024 annual meeting in Arlington, Texas. 

Dairy farms across the U.S. have been breeding a portion of their cows to beef sires since 2018. The resultant crossbred progeny, known as beef-on-dairy, has provided challenges and opportunities for both the beef and dairy industries. Penn State collected data over four years to evaluate the impact of beef-on-dairy progeny on these industries.