I am currently feeding beef-on-dairy calves on a large commercial feedlot in Ireland, and the pens in front of me demonstrate a simple fact: the dairy’s breeding decision, not the buyer’s paperwork, determines what eventually shows up at the bunk. The Holstein side contributes frame, organ mass and a later-maturing growth pattern. The beef sire should add muscling, carcass yield and earlier maturity, but how much it adds depends on the individual bull. A sire may have been ch

Beef-on-dairy calves are bringing a different set of management considerations to the feedlot as producers look for ways to capture more growth and carcass value. Growth-enhancing technologies such as implants and beta agonists can help push performance but trace mineral nutrition can influence how well cattle respond. Research from Iowa State University is showing zinc and copper deserve a closer look when growth-enhancing technologies are part of the program. The findings w

The number that defines Wisconsin dairy just crossed a threshold nobody wanted to see: fewer than 5,000 licensed dairy herds. As of Aug. 1, Wisconsin — America’s Dairyland — counted 4,991 dairy operations, down from 5,222 a year earlier and 5,470 just two years ago. It’s a milestone that captures in a single state what’s happening across the entire U.S. dairy industry: relentless consolidation toward fewer, larger farms producing more milk than ever before. And if Wisconsin’s