Seventy two percent of dairy farmers already use beef genetics to improve the value and performance of calves that are surplus to requirements for their dairy business.
Some farms are already adapting their systems and management to further increase the value of their surplus calves.
Find out more about the dairy calf strategies at Owl Farm, Craigmore and PAMU - what they have changed already and what they are looking to do in the future.
Owl Farm
Owl Farm is a 160-hectare dairy farm between the St Peter’s School Cambridge campus and the Waikato River. All calves are valued and cared for at Owl Farm according to their principle of increased 'purpose of life'. Owl Farm is a demonstration farm and has regular updates on Facebook and its website.
Pāmu
Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited) is a State-Owned Enterprise with a nationwide portfolio of farms that produce natural products of high quality.
Pāmu is innovating through farm-scale evaluations at the Wairakei Estate in the central North Island.
Craigmore
Craigmore manages farm and forest investments in New Zealand, being a mix of dairy, grazing, forestry and horticultural properties. This spans 18,000 hectares over both islands. Craigmore seeks to identify ways in which they can deliver a positive impact, and long-term sustainability of food and fibre production is core to the Craigmore vision.
Dairy beef genetics
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Genetics and LIC run a project that tests the performance of bulls with Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) that indicate they are likely to be excellent bulls for dairy beef systems: Beef and Dairy Beef Progeny Tests.