About 60 per cent of the beef cull was also of dairy origin.īeef + Lamb New Zealand farming excellence general manager Dan Brier said dairy-beef was one of its priorities. In New Zealand, about 30 per cent of beef finishing animals were born in the dairy sector.

Rojo would provide hundreds of dollars worth of meat, she said.Ĭhallenges to stopping bobby calves being killed would be convincing beef farmers to switch from traditional breeds to dairy-beef.Īs dairy cattle were smaller than traditional beef breeds, meat yields would be lighter, resulting in smaller profit margins. 'There's almost more processing cost than there is product.' When asked what is the difference in killing an animal on day one compared to day 730, she replied: 'At least he's had a life where he's been loved and cared for, been well fed and had all his needs met until such time he's useful.'Ī bobby calf was of little value to anyone because veal was not popular in New Zealand. 'He's looking good - we are going to have good prime meat.' Their 2-year-old bull Rojo - a quarter red factor Friesian and the rest Jersey - would be killed for beef in about two months. 'There is a limited amount of land in New Zealand, you can't rear everything or we will run out of space and feed.'

Those farmers would need to run only dairy-beef due to limitations on resources.

Raising dairy bull calves for profit