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Where is the beef from?
Published Monday, September 17, 2007 at 05:00 AM
For consumers who know beef doesn’t come from the grocery store or a specialty shop, they may think beef comes from only beef cattle. But about 20 percent of beef comes from dairy animals. And that is why it is important for both dairy and beef producers to maintain focus. Because, in animal agriculture ignoring business practices that can influence profitability can be harmful to business health.

To help both dairy beef and beef producers maximize profit centers, the beef checkoff’s quality assurance program offers basic, cost-effective herd management tools that can increase the value of the animal. Jay Mattison, chief executive officer and administrator of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, says - with a little planning, perhaps dairy producers could hold the animals for an extra 30 or 45 days before they are marketed, providing a little more conditioning and generating a better body score. That would really increase the value of harvest of that animal.

Ryan Ruppert, manager of the checkoff’s dairy and beef quality assurance program, says many quality management tools that dairy producers could utilize for relatively short periods are basic and cost-efficient. He says - using proper injection sites and adding conditioning – those are things that dairy producers can do right away to improve their profitability pretty quickly without incurring significant additional costs.

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