Dairy Producers Will Get Beef Message

SDBIC Will Be At National Holstein Convention

PIERRE (June 12, 2006)—When dairy producers from across the country converge on Sioux Falls, S.D. June 21-24, they’ll be talking about beef as well as milk and cheese. The National Holstein Convention will be in South Dakota ’s largest city for the first time in 15 years, and the state’s beef producers will be there to greet them.

“Dairy producers are beginning to understand that they’re beef producers as well as producers of milk,” says Gary Sharp, a dairyman from Bath , S.D. Sharp chairs the Dairy Producers Communications Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), and will be manning a South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) booth along with his wife, Donna, and SDBIC staff.

According to Sharp, some dairy producers may mistakenly believe that the beef checkoff only applies to beef breeds primarily raised for meat—and not to dairy animals whose main purpose is to produce milk. However, says Sharp, the Federal Act and Order, written to define and regulate the beef checkoff, states that all bovine animals will contribute $1 per head checkoff at the point of sale. And ‘bovine’, explains Sharp, includes dairy animals.

“Dairy producers need to understand that anytime they sell a steer, or cull cow, or a bull they’re selling cattle—cattle that end up in the meat case,” he insists.

The Sharps and SDBIC staff will be on hand at the Sioux Falls Convention Center to talk to dairy producers about the checkoff’s real dollar benefit to the dairy industry. They’ll point to research conducted by Dr. Gary Smith, head of the Animal Science Department at Colorado State University, that shows 60 to 80 percent of a cow carcass is now considered primal—or high value cuts—versus the same percentage that just a few years ago was considered good only for lower-valued trim or ground beef.

It’s a change driven by beef checkoff-funded research and marketing. Adding value to parts of the carcass like the chuck and round—making it possible to obtain higher dollar for more of the animal when harvested—has been a high priority of the checkoff program.

“That’s phenomenal for the dairy industry,” says Sharp, who explains that average dairy producers cull approximately one-third of their herd each year, more than traditional cow-calf producers. “Those cows used to be worth practically nothing, but now, through the beef checkoff and research on muscle profiling, they’re worth considerably more.”

Dr. Smith’s research also shows that many high-end restaurants in the U.S. prefer steaks from a Holstein breed rather than a British breed, because of its tenderness, flavor and consistency of size.

Sharp expects he’ll hear some discussion from dairy producers about paying the $1-per-head checkoff when they already contribute to the dairy checkoff. “I maintain it’s a bargain,” says Sharp, a Holstein breeder. He says the dairy producer pays approximately $35 per year per animal to the dairy checkoff, which is based on pounds of milk sold. However, the average beef animal, including dairy breeds, is sold only 2 ½ times in its lifetime—meaning an average of $2.50 per animal goes to the beef checkoff. This, Sharp states, is a bargain for all bovine producers.

South Dakota , as of January 1, 2006, had 81,000 dairy cows and 618 dairy farms producing 1.3 billion pounds of milk annually.

The SDBIC collects the $1-per-head beef checkoff on cattle sold in South Dakota . The state council, comprised of representatives from eight agriculture organizations, can retain up to 50 cents for state checkoff programs, while the remaining amount is forwarded to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. All checkoff dollars, state or national, must be utilized for promotion, research or educational projects.

Representative organizations are: SD Beef Breeds Council, SD Cattlemen’s Association, SD Cattlemen’s Auxiliary, SD CattleWomen, SD Farm Bureau, SD Farmers Union, SD Livestock Market Association, and SD Stockgrowers Association.