Beef-on-Dairy Crossbreeding: A Multidimensional Analysis and Gaps for Pasture-Based Production Systems

Beef-on-dairy (BoD) crossbreeding, defined as the planned use of beef sires on dairy dams, has expanded as a strategy to increase the value of dairy-origin calves while maintaining herd replacement requirements. This review critically synthesizes research published since 2016 across six interconnected dimensions: genetics and genomics, management and productive efficiency, carcass performance and meat quality, farm economics, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. The available evidence indicates that BoD can increase calf market value and improve selected growth and carcass traits, although the magnitude of these effects varies with sire genetic merit, dairy breed, reproductive performance, calf management, and finishing conditions. Genetic selection involves balancing calving ease and other functional traits against postnatal growth and carcass merit. Economic outcomes depend not only on calf prices but also on semen costs, reproductive efficiency, replacement requirements, and rearing and finishing expenses; therefore, improvements in individual production traits do not necessarily translate into greater whole-farm profitability. Environmental performance is similarly context-dependent and requires explicit consideration of system boundaries, functional units, emissions intensity, and potential soil carbon sequestration. Animal welfare must also be evaluated throughout the production chain rather than inferred from productive performance alone. A major limitation of the available evidence is its concentration in intensive and semi-intensive production systems, which restricts its transferability to permanent-pasture environments. Further research should prioritize longitudinal, farm-level evaluations from birth to slaughter under defined pasture-based conditions, integrating genetic and management decisions with productive, economic, environmental, and welfare outcomes.