Dairy-beef calves: break even or win big?
- ZISK
- Aug 6
- 1 min read
Supply and demand may dictate markets, but stepping back to discern before following the crowd might be your best move when considering a dairy-beef calf purchase. University of Minnesota professor Brad Heins considered the value proposition of these expensive animals in a recent podcast, exploring potential economic outcomes for producers who buy into a beef-on-dairy calf program these days.
Sticker shock
With prices skyrocketing — Heins noted that in central Minnesota, a 116-pound dairy-beef crossbred calf recently went for $1,450 — pursuing a beef-on-dairy plan to finish cattle could be cost prohibitive. “When I started in the beef and dairy world in 2018 or 2019, those calves were maybe $350 to $400. And they kept increasing; this past spring they were $800 to $900, but now $1,400 for the top ones? That’s crazy.” And when this upfront cost is tallied in with subsequent expenses, the current numbers might not add up to economic feasibility.
Jessica Miller
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