Generating value from dairy beef

Recognising the important role dairy-derived beef plays in the industry, Beef + Lamb New Zealand invests along the supply chain to generate greater beef returns for dairy farmers.

B+LNZ’s chief executive Sam McIvor says there’s enormous potential to extract value from dairy beef, from increasing the value of calves born on dairy farms through to the end product.

According to McIvor, the organisation works on behalf of dairy farmers to ensure market access for their beef products.

“Dairy beef sold under B+LNZ’s processor-supported Taste Pure Nature brand is attracting significant attention from ‘conscious foodies’ in the US and China who’re looking for naturally-raised, grass-fed meat – and are prepared to pay a premium for it.”

According to McIvor, results from B+LNZ’s Dairy Beef Progeny Test have shown that up to 45kg of additional carcase weight can be achieved by mating dairy cows to the appropriate beef bulls.

“There’s a huge pool of bulls available that can be safely used over dairy cows, offering improvement in gestation length and calf value as well as environmental benefits.”

A recent study comparing the climate footprint of dairy beef with traditional beef systems in NZ highlighted the potential to reduce the impact of beef production by around 20% by switching to dairy beef.

”All this work is extremely important given the pressure to farm with minimal impact on the environment and to continue driving efficiencies.”

Together with DairyNZ, B+LNZ is working on a research programme to capture more value from bobby calves. This includes identifying opportunities for new consumer products such as rose veal, examining implications for processing and testing onfarm systems – considering issues like greenhouse gases, calf rearing/genetics, and solutions such as sexed semen.

McIvor is encouraging dairy farmers to take part in B+LNZ’s levy referendum.