STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Dairy herds have a lot of variables that impact decisions for selecting females to breed with beef semen.
“Each dairy herd is unique,” said Andrew Sandeen, dairy educator at Pennsylvania State University.
“Those variables include the dynamics of the heifer inventory, preferences for sexed semen, use of reproductive performance, opportunities for future milk production or herd growth, marketing dairy versus beef animals, as well as availability of genetic information,” said Sandeen during a webinar organized by Penn State Extension.
“Beef semen is not a great solution for problem cows,” he said. “Using beef semen is not going to solve problems like high somatic cell cows.”
Sandeen strongly encourages dairymen to utilize available genetic information.
“Genomic information could prove very valuable in making a wise decision,” he said.
According to a survey that was conducted a couple of years ago with dairymen in Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan, the No. 1 reason for using beef semen in a herd was poor reproduction, Sandeen said.
“Angus is a great breed that a lot of dairymen tend towards partially because of the black color,” he said. “But I encourage more consideration of what you’re choosing for a bull.”
Additional beef breeds dairymen have been using for their herds include Limousin, Lim-Flex, SimAngus and Simmental.
“There is no reason we need to go towards Angus every time,” Sandeen said.
Dairymen can utilize expected progeny differences to help choose beef bulls to use for their breeding program.
“EPDs are a prediction of how future progeny of an individual bull will perform relative to other progeny of the same breed,” Sandeen said.
One example is yearling height.
“Holsteins already have a lot of stature, so we’re not interested in tall beef animals with a lot of bone growth,” Sandeen said. “But calving ease is something we want because it has a direct impact on the dairy producer.”
Dairy breeds tend to have a flat-shaped ribeye that is on the small side.
“So, ribeye area is one of the most important traits to look at,” Sandeen said. “We need to think about the customer and provide the best quality animal that we can when using beef on dairy genetics.”
Growth and muscle are important when selecting beef bulls.
“Efficient growth and good muscle that can be marketed to a consumer are really needed on these animals to push them more towards beef production,” Sandeen said.
The Angus association has developed two indexes for crossing beef on dairy — the Angus-On-Holstein ($AxH) for Holstein herds and the Angus-On-Jersey ($AxJ) for Jersey herds.
“These are great tools and the $AxH has a negative emphasis on height so we don’t get the animals too tall,” Sandeen said.
“We want to look at particular bulls not just a breed as we’re selecting bulls,” he said. “Angus tends to do very well for marbling and other breeds tend to do better for the ribeye area.”
Genetic companies can assist dairymen with making bull selections for their herds.
“Utilize them to guide you to the right bulls,” Sandeen said. “Conception is important, as well as terminal indexes, selecting against frame size and the preference for black color.”
As dairymen evaluate the option to use beef semen, Sandeen said, they should start with their heifer inventory.
“You need to make sure you have a supply of heifers and if there is a surplus then decide if using beef genetics on some of the heifers make sense,” he said. “If you’re going to use beef semen, then select the right genetics to use that result in a good end product and a happy customer.”
Sandeen advises dairymen to think about who they are selling the calves to.
“That will vary from dairy to dairy and you need to identify what they need,” he said.
Utilizing beef embryos may be an alternative for some dairy operations rather than using beef semen.
“You can put beef embryos into the lower end animals and use them as recipients,” Sandeen said. “Those calves may have higher value, but you need to look at the costs to see if it fits into your business plan.”
Dairymen should calculate numbers for availability of heifers, raising costs, cow flow dynamics, feed costs and sale prices for their operation.
“The more we know the numbers, the better equipped we will be to sit down with the farm team to make a decision that will work the best,” Sandeen said.