Surplus dairy cows are worth double what they were a few years ago, and that calls for greater emphasis on seeing them as valued meat.
A University of Guelph study found that cows headed for the meat market have higher value if they’re fed without milking for another 60 days.
Dr. Todd Duffield, chair of the population medicine department at the Ontario Veterinary College, says it might be time to refer to cull cows as market cows, an idea suggested by a speaker he heard several years ago. “He suggested that perhaps part of the challenge with our industry is that we think of these cows as cull cows and cull has a negative connotation. They are, in fact, a market and maybe we should be thinking of them that way.
“Perhaps a name change to market cow might benefit everything,” Duffield said at the annual research day for Dairy at Guelph, the university’s dairy research umbrella organization.
Cull cows are sent to market for numerous reasons, sometimes on an emergency basis, but Duffield and his students set out to learn whether cows destined for the beef market could be managed for more value.
They first looked at cows in auction markets. Forty per cent had a body condition score of two or less on a five-point scale and sold for less money. Seventy-two per cent had an unacceptable gait, often because they were carrying too much milk. They also sold for lower prices.
Duffield set up a trial in which the cows were dried off and fed to improve their body scores.
Forty-three cows from the Dairy Research Centre at the Elora Research Station were used in the study. Some were dried off and fed for 60 days with a lactating cow total mixed ration. That ration is produced on most dairy farms, and sweepings from the lactating herd could be used to feed the cull cows heading for market. Some cows in the study were sent directly to slaughter.
After 60 days, the cows on feed had an average body condition score of 3.6 compared to 2.6 for the cows that went directly to slaughter. Lameness scores and udder engorgement levels improved. Hock lesion numbers were about the same but severity declined in some of the cows fed for 60 days.
Meat quality also improved significantly. The fed cows were two times more likely to be graded AAA or Prime. Shear force measurements, which evaluate tenderness, were better for the fed cows.
“We can add value to these cows,” says Duffield. Some cows will always need to be culled quickly and others might already carry enough body condition.
However, the economics of feeding these types of cows works in the current era of high beef cattle prices, with a return of two to one, he says. That can be affected if there is need for extra space on the farm to house cows for 60 days while they aren’t giving milk.
“I think this is something to consider. It’s a win-win and improves the welfare and value of cows.”
Source: Farmtario / John Greig