Cows and calves coming from dairy herds are worth more than they have been in a while, widening options for marketing animals and managing cash flow. Whether through beef-on-dairy breeding or selling cull cows and surplus calves, the beef market has become an important part of the dairy business, with effects likely to continue for years.
Many producers are already seeing the benefits. As one recent Dairy Excel column put it, “Why didn’t I start sooner?”
This momentum is also changing how some animals move through the system. For example, analysts expect the U.S. dairy herd to stay older through 2026 as dairies stretch their replacements. These shifts make management decisions around animal welfare even more important.
Well-started calves are good business for everyone
Calves leaving the dairy for beef systems still face more health challenges than heifer calves raised on the farm, mostly due to variable colostrum care and transport stress. Many dairies are already doing an excellent job with calves that stay on-farm, so it is worth reinforcing those same good habits for all newborns. A few key management habits make a big difference:
• Start off feeding 4 quarts (about 10% of body weight) of clean, high-quality colostrum within 2 hours after birth.
• Measure serum total protein to confirm your colostrum program is working.
• Ship only calves that are at least 3 days old, hydrated and bright, with dry navels.
• Talk with calf buyers/drivers about pickup timing, hydration and weather conditions.
These small steps help calves leave the farm ready to thrive wherever they go.
Longevity: An opportunity to improve cow welfare?
With fewer heifers available, many dairies are keeping productive cows for another lactation or two. That approach can stretch resources and keep milk flowing, but older cows are also more prone to lameness, mastitis and metabolic issues. With the right management strategies, longevity can become an opportunity to improve herd welfare.
Insights from Dr. Jennifer Walker’s Heifer Academy webinar, hosted by Michigan State University Extension, emphasized that one of the biggest differences between good and poor outcomes is how early decisions are made. Acting sooner improves recovery, reduces suffering and protects both welfare and profitability.
Work with your veterinarian to have clear treatment and recovery plans, along with a realistic decision tree for each case: keep, ship or euthanize. When these protocols are in place, employees can act quickly and confidently.
If the decision is to ship, animals must be fit for the trip. According to the American Association of Bovine Practitioners’ Fit for Transport checklist, only cows that can walk unassisted, bear weight evenly and tolerate travel without distress should be loaded. Animals that are severely lame, weak, ill, blind in both eyes, have open wounds or are close to calving should not be loaded. As the guideline says, “When in doubt, leave it out.”
If chances of recovery are slim or suffering unavoidable, or if a cow is not fit for transport, euthanasia, or a good death, should be considered. Building a culture of care around these decisions honors both the animals and the people responsible for them.
Just as early choices shape calf success, timely culling decisions protect cow welfare and carcass value. Waiting too long to market a cow often means she travels in pain or arrives in poor condition, reducing both well-being and market return. Cows sold in good shape and at the right time bring higher prices and reflect producer care.
As someone who grew up around the meat industry, my hardest day at a packing plant was watching cows unload at a cull-cow facility. It was a hard reminder that our responsibility does not end when a cow leaves the dairy.
Economic success and animal welfare are linked
High beef prices offer welcome relief and new marketing flexibility, yet they also mean more dairy animals are entering the beef supply chain.
The challenge is to ensure that every animal moving through that chain receives the same level of care that built the dairy industry’s reputation for stewardship.
By keeping strong colostrum practices, maintaining comfort for aging cows and marketing fit animals responsibly, dairies can capture the benefits of the beef market without compromising welfare standards. Caring for animals from start to finish strengthens both the business and the trust consumers place in dairy producers.
