Beef on Dairy More Details This information is extracted from the newsletter of Dr. Arnie Hentschl of Harbor Beach, MI.  Arnie is well respected in the beef industry as he has a mind that is extraordinary while he still practices at the age of 88. 
 

Cull rates on dairies are down to 33% and we have some in the 20’s so with the use of sexed semen one third or less of dairy cows need to be mated for replacements.  The remainder can be bred to beef resulting in beef on dairy crossbred calf DxB. 
 

1. Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is widely accepted and many other breeds have adopted black hides.  Various specifications other than black hide are listed by CAB.

2. Half of the Beef on Dairy calves are heifers.

3. DxB sales were 8.5M in 2021. 30% over 2020.

4. Hostein feeders will be feeding more heifers as fewer holstein steers are available.

5. There is little production data comparing DxB heifer to DxB steers.

6. Cycling heifers is negative feeding issue.  MGA abates heat cycles at $.03 per day.  MGA has no production benefits and is not a production detriment when fed to steers.

7. Heifer pregnancy and calving difficulties is a consideration.  Aborting heifers on arrival that are suspected pregnant is advisable.  Prostaglandins are abortifacient for fetuses less than 5 mo of age.

8. Effects of MGA on Performance, Sexual Behavior, Carcass Quality, & Tenderness in mixed pens:

Heifer MGA: No effect on DMI, 4% improved Feed Efficiency, 8%> ADG & improved marbling. Prime and Choice; Control Steers 34.9% MGA 53.4%. Control Heifers 74.9% MGA Heifers 79.8%.
 

A few years ago at one of the producers meetings, we had a speaker discuss human resources. It is inevitably a topic that no one is excited to deal with, but at the same time is so incredibly important. In the agricultural industry, labor has quickly become the biggest hurdle to many operations. It will likely continue to be at the forefront of our minds going into the future. As a clinic we have been faced with the same challenges many of you face.

We are regularly training new staff and this year a new doctor.  We appreciate the grace you have given these new team members.  It takes time to gain experience.

Clear expectations are the foundation of a good working relationship. Having an employee manual or a printed out task list will give employees direction and help them know exactly what the expectations are. This can help eliminate situations where you may feel an employee is falling short, while they may have no idea that their performance is not where it should be. It is not uncommon that employees are not aware of a set of tasks that they were supposed to do. Yet as an employer it’s frustrating because something isn’t getting done. This shows that simple and clear communication is the back bone of any good relationship.

One of the biggest things discussed at the meeting was making sure that your employees truly understand the importance of the task that they are doing. Once  a milker understands that parlor routine directly correlates to somatic cell count, milk quality, and the profitability of the farm, they are more likely to do a good job since they’ll better understand the significance of their job. Sometimes financial incentives can even be used to help motivate employees if it is done correctly.

Another key component to highlighted performance is making sure it is very structured how their performance will be reviewed. Time must be made to have 30 day, 90 day, etc. reviews so employees know where they stand and where they need to make improvements. It is also important for you to make these meetings a priority so your employees see that these reviews are valuable and worth their time. Take time to think who all should be present at the review and who should be giving insight into employee performance.

It is also important to remember that employees want to feel valued. Sometimes financial compensation is enough, but for many it goes beyond that. They want to feel like they and their families are cared for and that they are a crucial member of the team. This can be difficult to convey sometimes due to language barriers on farms, but doing your best to tell an employee how much they are appreciated can sometimes go a long way. Some farm employees truly just want to work as much as possible and collect their check, whereas others need a little more. It goes a long way to know what a specific employee needs to feel valued and appreciated.

These tips by no means will solve all your employee problems, but they are a starting point in helping to improve retention. Remember, it takes months for an employee to start truly making you money, so even if you can increase retention times by 12-18 months that can have a significant financial impact on the farm. The better a team works together, the smoother the day to day tasks go, and that almost always results in increased profitability.   -Dr. Stayduhar

My father taught me to not to over-think things, that nothing will ever be perfect, so just keep moving and do your best.  –Scott Eastwood