Factors affecting breeding practices and surplus calf management: Producer perspectives from Atlantic Canada

Dairy-beef and veal production play an important role in the North American beef supply, relying almost entirely on surplus calves that are marketed at a young age from dairy farms. However, suboptimal health conditions and improper management, due to their lack of a substantial role in dairy production and limited economic returns, have drawn public attention to the issue of surplus calves. To facilitate optimal care for these calves, crossbreeding and on-farm dairy-beef production have been promoted as strategies to increase the economic value of surplus calves. The objectives of this study were to describe current surplus calf marketing practices, the rationale behind these practices, and any differences between the breeding strategies employed by dairy farmers who raised and finished dairy-beef animals on their farms (referred to as "dairy-beef producers") and those who did not ("non-dairy-beef producers"). An online survey was completed by 70 dairy producers in Atlantic Canada; 66 of these dairy producers answered sufficient questions to be classified as dairy-beef producers or non-dairy-beef producers. There was a moderate number of dairy-beef producers (24.2%) in Atlantic Canada, although most dairy-beef and non-dairy-beef producers marketed some of their surplus calves before weaning (97.0%). On-farm resource availability (i.e., housing, labor, and feeding capacities) and economic factors (i.e., production costs, profitability, quick earnings, and dairy-beef demand) were the primary considerations among producers that influenced their marketing practices. Additionally, the use of sexed frozen dairy semen (43.8%-72.0%) and unsexed frozen beef semen (78.0%-93.08%) on dairy cattle was common among producers, with Aberdeen Angus being the most commonly used breed for crossbreeding (89.5%). The results highlight that dairy producers consider on-farm resource availability and economic factors when managing and marketing surplus calves. Crossbreeding and the use of sexed semen seem to be widely adopted on farms in Atlantic Canada, and on-farm dairy-beef production could be a viable secondary business for some dairy producers in the near future.