ABP Food Group has announced details of an initiative which aims to link calf to beef farmers with dairy herds that are working to produce better-quality beef calves.
The initiative – which was initially rolled out in late 2023 – will offer eligible dairy farmers a guaranteed price for their calves, based on meeting certain criteria, while providing calf-to-beef farmers with a reliable source for better-quality dairy-beef calves.
The plan will be spearheaded by ABP’s Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison team in partnership with Progressive Genetics and Munster Bovine.
The Advantage Beef Programme team is seeking dairy farmers using high-quality Angus and Hereford sires which may suit the programme and calf to beef farmers looking for a higher-quality calf to achieve optimum weight gains.
The initiative is titled: ‘Advantage Calf Sustainability Programme’ and is open to eligible Angus and Hereford beef-sired male and female calves born between September and January.
Calf to beef farmer and Advantage Beef Programme member David Craig from Co. Meath has secured autumn-born calves through the initiative.
He said: “An Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison officer contacted me about the initiative and we got first autumn-born calves this year.
“They were sourced from a nearby dairy farmer in Meath. It was a hassle-free process and the calves are doing well. We are looking forward to working with the dairy farmer that supplied the calves again in future.”
The programme is open to dairy herds with no Jersey breeding or extreme dairy-cow type.
ABP calf standards
Calves must be a minimum of three weeks of age at the time of the sale and a minimum weight of 50kg.
For weaned calves, dairy farmers will receive a base price and for calves over 50kg, an additional payment is received for every extra kg of weight up to a maximum of 130kg.
For weaned calves, the calves must have been weaned in-line with ABP’s calf-rearing protocols.
According to ABP Food Group: “The results from the ABP Demo Farm in Carlow have shown many benefits to both dairy and beef farmers when beef bulls are selected for the dairy herd, balanced for calving difficulty, gestation length, beef carcass and efficiency traits.
“ABP’s Advantage Beef Calf Sustainability Programme gives dairy farmers a guaranteed price for beef calves, sold directly from their farm yard.”
The initiative aims to secure a fair price for both the buyer and the seller of the calf and offer a hassle-free on-farm sale for trading calves with a possibility to build a more regular buyer-seller relationship.
It aims to provide the beef farmer with more certainty that they are buying a high-quality calf with a good genetic beef merit sourced from a herd with a good herd-health status and guaranteed colostrum intake at time of birth.
Further details on the scheme are available by contacting Aideen Bates from the Advantage Beef Programme on 086 165 3501.