Beef on Dairy Task Force

More and more dairy farmers use beef bulls. This has created growing interest in both the dairy and beef sectors in better ways to deliver quality calves from dairy herds to beef production. The ICAR Beef on Dairy Task Force was set up to look at opportunities to develop guidelines in this area. The Task Force held an introductory meeting at the ICAR conference in Verona. . 

Objectives

• Give ICAR members a place to collaborate, exchange information and learn on Beef on Dairy  production, recording and genetic evaluation. 
• Provide a Strategic Roadmap for adding Beef-on-Dairy to ICAR and Interbull services. 

Following up on the recommendations of the BWYPEX report on beef on dairy (Jo Newton) this may involve the need to  

• Understanding the needs of stakeholders across the value chain.  
• Determine an initial set of traits for the development of further guidelines and services 
• Investigate improvements for data integration from the beef and dairy sectors. 
• Establish procedures for data transfer from large processing centres to a central database. 
• Working with ICAR groups to identify synergies and build on existing beef-dairy links 
• Setting priorities for future research.