The use of beef sires on dairy females has continued to be a common and growing management practice on dairy farms. During the summer of 2021, UW-Madison Division of Extension educators surveyed 40 dairy farms known to be using beef sires to breed dairy females to assess their beef x dairy sire selection criteria, selection of dairy females to breed to beef sires, newborn calf management, milk feeding practices, and how they market their beef x dairy cattle. The 2021 survey expanded upon an earlier survey done in 2018 by asking for more information on herd dynamics, calf care, and colostrum management. However, similar questions on sire selection and selection of females to breed to beef from the 2018 survey were used to determine what changes, if any, had occurred since that time. The 2021 survey was partially supported by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Considerations for Breeding Dairy Cattle to Beef Breeds for Meat Production
Dairy farm use, and criteria for use, of beef genetics on dairy females
Resources for Handling Down Cattle
Establishing alfalfa following wheat
