The 2016 Jack Green Churchill Fellowship awardee has vowed to try remove barriers and concerns within the Australian dairy industry to aid progression in finding a viable end product for the bobby calf.
Awardee Peter Havrlant, Department of Primary Industries dairy development officer, will travel to the USA, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand to investigate dairy calf production, from the farm to rearing and end markets.
“By taking the end product approach we will be able to work backwards and recognise we cant just put bobby calves out into the market without creating a value around them; it requires the whole chain approach,” Mr Havrlant said.
“With the current cattle prices at historical highs it’s a good time to tackle this because we can organically show that Holstein’s have value in this market – we are looking at sustainable solutions and placing the Holstein, whether it be veal, steer or bull, in the market regardless of the price,” he said.
“It’s about identifying options for dairy producers and address areas of concern and demonstrate the value of dairy breeds in the beef chain – international industries have a specialised dairy calf raising sector – there has to be an end point for the animal and value all the way back to the farmer.”
According to Dairy Australia, about 400,000 bobby calves, a calf less than 30 days old, are processed each year in Australia.
Mr Havrlant said traditionally in Australia, bobby calves are sold directly to abattoirs at five days of age for the veal market however currently there is no single system in place and calves are almost always sold at a loss to the producer after production costs.
“Some systems in Australia include going off farm for slaughter shortly after birth, as well as being fed out to weaner weight and in some cases grown out to steer and bullock weight on pastures – it all depends on individual circumstances and knowledge,” he said.
“It’s important to note that the end market for the bobby calf can be varied; it could be pharmaceutical, meat, or hide and this is why we want to educate the public as well – they are aware of some aspects of the industry but unaware of others.”
The overall purpose of Mr Havrlants study is to demonstrate what systems Australia has in place now, what other countries are achieving through their systems and how they can be applicable in Australia.
“I’m passionate about getting maximum value and see calves grown out – to recognise diary animals as quality meat sources we need to have a consistent supply through the chain.”
A well-known dairy producing family has found their own solution to maximising the potential of male dairy calves, however they believe that not all producers have the same land luxuries or know-how to do so.
Downie Pastoral Company, Jemalong, has about 150 Holstein male dairy calves hit the ground throughout the year from a 350 cow herd.
Milked two times per day on a 42 stand rotary, the Downie’s average about 8000 litres of milk over 305 days, which is sold to Devondale Murray Goulburn.
Tim Downie said they have always taken advantage of their excess acreage to grow-out the calves. He said the 1000 hectare run-out block holds the calves until about 12 months of age.
“We have always held onto them and reared them up to sell later on – but we are lucky we have the extra space,” he said.
Sold to Monbeef, Cooma, the most recent return for steers was an average of $1500 per head. “If you were to do the sums on them you probably wouldn’t make that much against the milk return however they are a good cash flow when you need it,” Mr Downie said.
“There is a general concern among producers about the male calf and not knowing what to do with them – the smaller land producers probably need the most help,” he said.
“It would be a great step forward for the dairy industry if we, the producers, had more knowledge about what to do with the male dairy calf – if the expansion of the dairy meat market can open up for us then more producers may hang on to them and get a better return.”
