Speaking at an event organised by the All Ireland Guild of Agricultural Journalists on Thursday, Finbarr McDonnell, the chief executive of ABP’s beef division, said he is concerned if growth in the dairy sector does not contain more cross breeding with traditional beef animals.
“I have no home for a Friesian bobby (male) calf,” McDonnell bluntly told the meeting.
“The alternative is that if you’re a dairy man and you put your cow in calf to a Friesian that’s problem worth €130 against an Angus calf with an average of €245... that’s the decision (the farmer) should be making.
“The alternative is catastrophic. If the dairy herd expands and they’re all Friesian bull calves, where do you go with them? They’re bad yielders (and) you’re feeding them for the sake of feeding them,” McDonnell said.
Dairy opportunity
McDonnell said the processor has been working in attempt to get the dairy sector to use more cross breeding of those traditional breeds.
He also moved to dispel fears that the Irish suckler cow herd is under threat saying that the processor still relies on its quality.
“That’s where the opportunity is for us in the processing (sector) as the dairy herd is expanding. We have worked very, very hard how we try to encourage the dairy herd to do crosses with breeds,” McDonnell said.
“Angus and Hereford have grown from 9% to 21% in the past two or three years, we’d like to think we were responsible for a lot of that but that’s a big benefit to the processing industry. They are breeds that are in demand and they are progeny from the dairy herd.
“Where the suckler is very important to us, the dairy herd is becoming more important to the beef industry because of the (dairy herd) crosses,” McDonnell said before adding that the million cow suckler herd in Ireland has a “good future” due to the quality of the beef animal and its use for volume in the retail space.
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Dairy calf to beef management series
Speaking at an event organised by the All Ireland Guild of Agricultural Journalists on Thursday, Finbarr McDonnell, the chief executive of ABP’s beef division, said he is concerned if growth in the dairy sector does not contain more cross breeding with traditional beef animals.
“I have no home for a Friesian bobby (male) calf,” McDonnell bluntly told the meeting.
“The alternative is that if you’re a dairy man and you put your cow in calf to a Friesian that’s problem worth €130 against an Angus calf with an average of €245... that’s the decision (the farmer) should be making.
“The alternative is catastrophic. If the dairy herd expands and they’re all Friesian bull calves, where do you go with them? They’re bad yielders (and) you’re feeding them for the sake of feeding them,” McDonnell said.
Dairy opportunity
McDonnell said the processor has been working in attempt to get the dairy sector to use more cross breeding of those traditional breeds.
He also moved to dispel fears that the Irish suckler cow herd is under threat saying that the processor still relies on its quality.
“That’s where the opportunity is for us in the processing (sector) as the dairy herd is expanding. We have worked very, very hard how we try to encourage the dairy herd to do crosses with breeds,” McDonnell said.
“Angus and Hereford have grown from 9% to 21% in the past two or three years, we’d like to think we were responsible for a lot of that but that’s a big benefit to the processing industry. They are breeds that are in demand and they are progeny from the dairy herd.
“Where the suckler is very important to us, the dairy herd is becoming more important to the beef industry because of the (dairy herd) crosses,” McDonnell said before adding that the million cow suckler herd in Ireland has a “good future” due to the quality of the beef animal and its use for volume in the retail space.
Read more
Dairy calf to beef management series
SHARING OPTIONS