Fast food key to farmers making more with their dairy calves

Australian dairy farmers are finding new value in their calves by cross-breeding with beef genetics, a trend driven by the growing demand from fast food companies. Traditionally, many dairy calves were sold as "bobby calves" at a very young age, often for veal or hides. However, farmers like Evan Nicholas are now capitalizing on the "dairy beef" market.

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It makes the bobby calf a viable asset.

Nicholas, who milks around 600 cows in Victoria, is among a growing number of farmers who are keeping their calves longer. By cross-breeding dairy cows with beef breeds such as Charolais, Hereford, and Angus, they can produce higher-quality meat. This strategy makes the "bobby calf" a "viable asset," according to Nicholas, allowing farmers to leverage the best genetics for meat production.

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The beauty about dairy beef is now you can choose the best genetics … and you can get the most meat

Fast food giants are showing significant interest in this development. The Fulton Market Group (FMG), a major supplier for McDonald's restaurants globally, has announced plans to increase its use of dairy beef in Australia by 2030. FMG aims to move approximately 100,000 non-replacement calves annually from the low-value market into a higher-value one, working with processors to build confidence and scale up supply chains.

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We're trying to find them viable pathways, whether that be through to weaning and going to backgrounders and feedlotters

Dairy Australia and Meat and Livestock Australia are supporting this transformation through projects like Calfways, aiming to improve dairy calf management by 2035. Bec Barnewall from Dairy Australia notes that calves were once considered an "issue" but are now an "opportunity." Farmers are finding that the costs associated with raising calves to weaning are compensated by the higher prices they fetch in the dairy beef market, a development that is encouraging for the industry.

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One of the surprising findings has been, regardless of the cost to get the animals weaned, farmers were able to compensate for that cost when they sold them, which is really positive.