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Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration

Background: There has been very little previous research in Ireland on the opinions of farmers regarding dairy beef integration. The need for increased dairy beef integration has assumed a greater importance in Ireland in recent years due to a rapid expansion in dairy production, and associated incr...

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Autores principales: Maher, James W., Clarke, AnneMarie, Byrne, Andrew William, Doyle, Rob, Blake, Martin, Cromie, Andrew, Barrett, Damien
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8238080/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34195246
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.660061
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author Maher, James W.
Clarke, AnneMarie
Byrne, Andrew William
Doyle, Rob
Blake, Martin
Cromie, Andrew
Barrett, Damien
author_facet Maher, James W.
Clarke, AnneMarie
Byrne, Andrew William
Doyle, Rob
Blake, Martin
Cromie, Andrew
Barrett, Damien
author_sort Maher, James W.
collection PubMed
description Background: There has been very little previous research in Ireland on the opinions of farmers regarding dairy beef integration. The need for increased dairy beef integration has assumed a greater importance in Ireland in recent years due to a rapid expansion in dairy production, and associated increase in numbers of male dairy calves born on Irish farms. The objective of this study was to explore beef farmers' views on a broad range of issues related to dairy beef integration, using a survey methodology. The survey was distributed to approximately 4,250 beef farmers via email and 1,203 participated in the study. Results: The sample was composed almost entirely of beef farmers, although a very small proportion also had a dairy enterprise on their farm. Eighty percent of the farmers were concerned with the increase in the number of male dairy calves in recent years. Fifty seven percent of farmers responded that they were not willing to rear dairy bred calves for beef. Limousin, Aberdeen Angus and Hereford were the breeds farmers would be most willing to rear for beef. Good health, breed, and conformation were ranked as the main factors calf rearers consider when buying calves. Expectation of poor profit margin, expectation of poor-quality calves, and price volatility/market uncertainty were the top ranked factors dissuading farmers from rearing dairy calves for beef. The main themes arising from the qualitative question related to beef price/ability to make a profit, breed, and calf quality. Conclusions: While it is concerning that the majority of respondents expressed an unwillingness to rear dairy bred calves for beef, approximately a quarter of beef farmers indicated a willingness to rear beef-sired dairy calves for beef. In the qualitative responses, farmers described how their concerns about calf quality and their ability to make a profit from dairy bred calves would make it difficult for them to rear these calves for beef. Future strategy will have to consider how these challenges can be overcome and the issues of who bears the risks and costs associated with greater integration will have to be carefully considered.
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spelling pubmed-82380802021-06-29 Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration Maher, James W. Clarke, AnneMarie Byrne, Andrew William Doyle, Rob Blake, Martin Cromie, Andrew Barrett, Damien Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Background: There has been very little previous research in Ireland on the opinions of farmers regarding dairy beef integration. The need for increased dairy beef integration has assumed a greater importance in Ireland in recent years due to a rapid expansion in dairy production, and associated increase in numbers of male dairy calves born on Irish farms. The objective of this study was to explore beef farmers' views on a broad range of issues related to dairy beef integration, using a survey methodology. The survey was distributed to approximately 4,250 beef farmers via email and 1,203 participated in the study. Results: The sample was composed almost entirely of beef farmers, although a very small proportion also had a dairy enterprise on their farm. Eighty percent of the farmers were concerned with the increase in the number of male dairy calves in recent years. Fifty seven percent of farmers responded that they were not willing to rear dairy bred calves for beef. Limousin, Aberdeen Angus and Hereford were the breeds farmers would be most willing to rear for beef. Good health, breed, and conformation were ranked as the main factors calf rearers consider when buying calves. Expectation of poor profit margin, expectation of poor-quality calves, and price volatility/market uncertainty were the top ranked factors dissuading farmers from rearing dairy calves for beef. The main themes arising from the qualitative question related to beef price/ability to make a profit, breed, and calf quality. Conclusions: While it is concerning that the majority of respondents expressed an unwillingness to rear dairy bred calves for beef, approximately a quarter of beef farmers indicated a willingness to rear beef-sired dairy calves for beef. In the qualitative responses, farmers described how their concerns about calf quality and their ability to make a profit from dairy bred calves would make it difficult for them to rear these calves for beef. Future strategy will have to consider how these challenges can be overcome and the issues of who bears the risks and costs associated with greater integration will have to be carefully considered. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-14 /pmc/articles/PMC8238080/ /pubmed/34195246 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.660061 Text en Copyright © 2021 Maher, Clarke, Byrne, Doyle, Blake, Cromie and Barrett. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Maher, James W.
Clarke, AnneMarie
Byrne, Andrew William
Doyle, Rob
Blake, Martin
Cromie, Andrew
Barrett, Damien
Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title_full Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title_fullStr Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title_short Exploring the Opinions of Irish Beef Farmers Regarding Dairy Beef Integration
title_sort exploring the opinions of irish beef farmers regarding dairy beef integration
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8238080/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34195246
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.660061
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