Breeding for profit: Use data to guide your beef-on-dairy strategy
MADISON, Wis. [June 3, 2025] – With high premiums for beef cross calves and the rising cost of raising replacements, more dairy farms are adopting beef-on-dairy programs to boost profitability. But successful farms are not simply following the trend – they’re using data to build smart, customized breeding programs to ensure they meet their herd goals.
“Beef-on-dairy can be a great tool, but only if it aligns with your herd goals,” said Robert Heintz, support technician at VAS. “The right strategy depends on your heifer needs, labor, market demands and long-term goals – but most importantly, it should be based on data, not guesswork.”
Remember, every herd is different. Some farms breed all heifers to sexed semen and all cows to beef. Others need to focus on keeping a younger herd and removing cows from the herd sooner to reduce health issues and costs.
The key is to use your data to guide your breeding decisions to refine and align your reproduction strategy with your farm’s unique goals and priorities. Herd management solutions like DairyComp from VAS make it easier to evaluate performance and make informed decisions that help strengthen your herd and bottom line.
Short-term goals vs. long-term vision
While the short-term advantage of beef-on-dairy is clear – capitalize on calf premiums while lowering the cost of raising lower-merit replacements – it’s just as important to protect your long-term herd performance.
“Replacements are your foundation,” Heintz explains. “If you don’t have enough of them, you limit your ability to maintain herd size or grow. That’s where inventory projections make a big difference.”
With herd management software, you can use pregnancy data to forecast replacements in real-time. If projections dip, you can adjust your breeding strategy quickly – even weekly – to stay on track.
For example, one farm Heintz works with breeds their heifers to beef semen and cows to sexed semen. They use monthly reports to track the number of cows pregnant from sexed semen. If the numbers fall short of or exceed their target, they adjust their breeding plan to stay on track. Real-time access to data and flexibility help maintain the necessary replacement inventory without relying on assumptions.
“It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it approach,” says Heintz. “The best programs adjust as they go. That’s how you make a breeding strategy sustainable and profitable.”
Smarter breeding starts with better data
Herd management software can also help identify which animals are best suited for beef semen, sexed semen or an embryo. You can rank cows based on genomic data, expected progeny differences or custom benchmarks that align with your farm’s goals.
“Customized reports take the guesswork out of breeding,” said Heintz. “You can easily see what is working and what is not to make adjustments with your consultants and breeding partners in real-time.”
Custom reports enable you to analyze outcomes by semen type, sire or breed – including conception rates, calving ease and birth weights. These details make evaluating every part of your program easier, down to the individual cow. You’ll see which cows are getting pregnant and which sires are delivering healthy, high-performing calves.
Software like DairyComp can generate automatic breeding recommendations based on your criteria. This information can be shared directly with your full reproductive team so everyone stays on the same page.
Know when to shift gears
Key performance indicators (KPIs) reveal when your program is on track and when it may need a course correction. Metrics such as conception rate, calving ease, gestation length, cull rate and calf performance offer valuable insights.
“Another farm I worked with tracks health costs by lactation group and discovered their older cows had more lameness and transition issues,” recalls Heintz. “They decided to adjust their breeding strategy by removing cows from the herd after second lactation and stepping away from beef-on-dairy altogether. This overall improved herd health and financial outcomes.”
Success is about making smart, holistic decisions that align with your goals. Whether you’re exploring beef-on-dairy for the first time or fine-tuning an established program, your herd data holds the answers.
With tools like DairyComp, you can create custom strategies, monitor meaningful KPIs and adapt them in real-time to meet your dairy’s reproductive and profitability goals. Learn how to optimize your breeding strategy with the help of herd management software at https://vas.com/.
VAS is the global market leader in connected farm management systems. For 40 years, VAS has been the operating system of choice for the most innovative dairies. VAS’ software and information solutions help collect and connect a farm’s data – from herd management to feed performance, tracking and more. These insights are a source of truth, empowering producers and their trusted advisors to make profit-driven and sustainable management decisions. At the forefront of thought leadership within the dairy industry, VAS is trusted by the producers we serve and the greater dairy community.
