Dairy calf for meat?

[Jnlcosta]

Who uses their dairy cow's calf as a beef cow once weaned and old enough? Or do you just sell it to someone who wants a dairy cow?

Pros? Cons?

[karenp]

I haven't gotten that far personally, but lots of people do. Some buy the dairy's bull calf which are sold very young and raise them for beef. A lot of people who keep dairy cows will breed them to beef cows so the offspring will be beefier, Jersey x Angus cross for example.

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by karenp

I haven't gotten that far personally, but lots of people do. Some buy the dairy's bull calf which are sold very young and raise them for beef. A lot of people who keep dairy cows will breed them to beef cows so the offspring will be beefier, Jersey x Angus cross for example.

Makes sense. Thanks!

[jwal10]

If the dairy calf is a heifer and of good breeding it could be worth more than a beef steer. If the calf is a bull then yes, beef it....James

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by jwal10

If the dairy calf is a heifer and of good breeding it could be worth more than a beef steer. If the calf is a bull then yes, beef it....James

Oh! I didn't think about that.

[arnie]

I had a milk cow for many years and she was the biggest contributer to the homestead .her being a brown swiss a gentle giant and easy to handle .the angus bull on the farm was convient. so every year her calf was destined for the freezer I raised it in the old fashioned way letting the cow out on pasture and the calf in the barn n lot at milking time the cow came in like clock work 'the walked up to her manger in the milking barn (after I opened the gate ) as she ate her grain ration the calf fed on the left as I milked on the right the more the calf grew the faster I had to mlik to get my share . I also fed the calf plenty of grain and hay keeping it growing and fat when the cow was dried off,i'd continue feedindg the calf extra grain even though I let it out to pasture with the other cattle to rest myself from the barn cleaning chores . till the cow had her new calf and milking once more was a dayly routine . the calf was sent to the butcher weighing in at 6-750 pounds more or less( depending on bull or heifer and age) of tender home grown baby beef that is uncompareable to any thing bought in the grocery store . I lost my old milker this spring but theres still plenty of meat from her last calf. with father time nipping at my tail and the high price of "broke to milk cows" I am trying being a goat milker .and raiseing by beef with a angus cow here on the farm . the milk cow prodused plenty of milk for all my dairy needs includeing butter, and great icecream with plenty of extra for the calf and a pig as well .all on mostly pasture I still could not tell you or complain about the price or quality of pork or beef in the local wal=mart . I could never under stand not growing your own meat and dairy on the farm . I suppose if I had not crossed my brown swiss with a beef type bull the beef from the calf would have been less and steaks of a somewhat lower grade .but still having a stress free ife only eating the best feed and having the best of care sure does make a difference in quality . and you have the option of instead of sending the beef to butcher at 10- 11 months as a fat baby beef continue growing it to a 17-18 month old and grain it for the last couple months to get gormeit prime beef that you hear about only in fancy restrants and butcher shops at out ragious prices

[Oakshire_Farm]

I raise dairy bull calves for meat. I raise about 40 every year! I pick them up at about a week old from the dairy farms, I raise them up on the milk from my cows. Then sell them once they are weaned to people in our area that want to raise them for meat. I usually raise up 2 every year as well too.

I have never butchered a good cow, or a old cow, once they have given their life to us producing milk. I prefer to "plant" them in the pasture. After years of being a good milk cow they owe me nothing.

[Tex-]

We always raise the bull calves from the milk cows as beef. The heifer calves are worth quite a bit around here as milk cows, so we raise them and have kept them or sold them as bred heifers. If the heifer calves are by our Angus bulls, they go into the beef herd.

I raised bottle calves as a kid and I would often keep a Jersey steer back as beef and it is the best beef there is. When I was on the beef judging team in college, we had a man from the packing industry list five different breeds and he wanted us to list them in order of beef quality. One of those breeds was Jersey and Iwas the only one who listed it first in quality. The man asked how I knew to list it first and I told him it was because I had eaten them and raised them. I was the only one who listed the five breeds in the correct order.

Dairy breeds grow out quite a bit slower, but they are well worth the wait. If you the pasture where you can turn it out, do it and forget about it for a while. Your tastebuds will thank you.


Tex

[Jnlcosta]

Originally Posted by Tex-

We always raise the bull calves from the milk cows as beef. The heifer calves are worth quite a bit around here as milk cows, so we raise them and have kept them or sold them as bred heifers. If the heifer calves are by our Angus bulls, they go into the beef herd.

I raised bottle calves as a kid and I would often keep a Jersey steer back as beef and it is the best beef there is. When I was on the beef judging team in college, we had a man from the packing industry list five different breeds and he wanted us to list them in order of beef quality. One of those breeds was Jersey and Iwas the only one who listed it first in quality. The man asked how I knew to list it first and I told him it was because I had eaten them and raised them. I was the only one who listed the five breeds in the correct order.

Dairy breeds grow out quite a bit slower, but they are well worth the wait. If you the pasture where you can turn it out, do it and forget about it for a while. Your tastebuds will thank you.


Tex

Good info! Thanks! Were they grain fed at all or only grass/hay fed? I read on here that grain finished beef has more marbling.

[sammyd]

We raise ours leaning more towards grain fed. We tried pasture fed on our last one and will not be doing it again.
We are raising our own corn so we can go with a program called Tend R Leen which requires nothing but whole shell corn and their pellet. We raised one on it years ago when corn was cheap and it was the most wonderful beef.


Here in America's dairyland dairy bulls and beef calves are currently worth more than dairy heifers. The beef market is that whacked.

[Lazy J]

The biggest problem I see with most people raising Holsteins for beef is that they don't feed them long enough or to heavy enough weights.

[arnie]

your dairy beefs will never marble like the angus or herfords meat will . there fore I can never be graded as "prime " that is not to say they can't be tender and flavorfull . beef that can be graded as prime is rare and hard to find nowadays with the leaner beef being the trend today .in my youth I remember the home milk cows calf was usally sold as veil as were most dairy bull calfs .but veal is no longer popular and most Hosteen calves are now raised to maturity for the beef market hambuger I guess

[Jnlcosta]

Good info! Thanks everyone!

[Awnry Abe]

Originally Posted by Lazy J

The biggest problem I see with most people raising Holsteins for beef is that they don't feed them long enough or to heavy enough weights.

Lazy, I was just about to start a new thread to ask this, but you seemed to touch right on my question. I have 28 month old Holstein steer that seems to me is about ready for slaughter. He's been on nothing but grass. We have heard, and I would like to confirm, this statement:

"Holsteins make tough beef.".

I hear it with out qualifications. What are your thoughts?

[sammyd]

If you wait 28 months and feed only grass I would bet you would get a tough cow.
According to an article I read at farmprogress 15% of the dairy beef that goes to slaughter grades prime. so it can be done.

“Without dairy beef, the industry
would have a difficult time supplying
enough Prime and Choice cuts to restaurants
and other food-service operations,”

http://magissues.farmprogress.com/AM...ov06/ama34.pdf

[oregon woodsmok]

If you get a Holstein bull calf, castrate him right away and feed him long enough for him to fill out, you will have some of the best beef, ever. Holstein beef is fine grained with a lovely flavor. Fat is yellowish, which isn't what people are used to, but it tastes great.

A Holstein is building his frame for the first two years and doesn't make meat until the third year. So, you have to run a Holstein steer on for a long time, but of you have the room to keep him, you will get a lot of fine quality meat from him.

My meat animal of choice is an Angus Holstein cross steer. You get fine textured meat with some marbling and the calf is ready to butcher at teh end of the second year.

[sammyd]

If you want a frame on a stein you leave the nuts on him till around 600 pounds then castrate and feed out.
Neighbor ran a feed lot for years and that's how he did it.

[Jnlcosta]

Interesting. Lots to think about.

[topside1]

Here's two of my boys doing what they do best, growing. 46-48% meat yield at butcher time....Topside

[cooper101]

We just slaughtered 4 holstein bull calves at 5 1/2 months old. Fed waste milk, then corn/pellets and hay. The meat was phenomenal. Tender as heck, flavorful, lean. I've gotten excellent feedback and repeat orders already.

I don't have the facilities for 1200 pound animals, but I do for 500-600 pound animals, so I tried it. Excellent meat.