Vandresen Bianca, Weary Daniel M, von Keyserlingk Marina A G
Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 10;20(9):e0330697. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330697. eCollection 2025.
Non-replacement dairy calves (i.e., males and females not needed for milking herd replacement) can face multiple welfare challenges due to their low economic value in the dairy and beef industries. Incorporating beef genetics into dairy herd breeding programs has become common to produce beef-on-dairy crossbred calves that are better suited for beef production than pure dairy breed animals. This practice has the potential to increase revenue from non-replacement dairy calves for dairy farmers, but little is known about its impact on beef farmers. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of Canadian beef producers toward dairy-beef production, with a focus on how beef-on-dairy breeding strategies by dairy may affect the beef industry. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 beef farmers in Western Canada, exploring their awareness, attitudes, and recommendations for the management of beef-on-dairy calves. Participants (11 male, 9 female) were recruited using snowball sampling and interviewed following a semi-structured interview guide. The audio-recorded interviews (averaging 44 ± 15 min in duration) were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, resulting in three main themes: 1) the dairy and beef relationship, 2) attitudes to beef-on-dairy animals, and 3) a shared future. In the first theme, participants discussed the relationship between the dairy and beef industries, highlighting differences in Canadian market structures (dairy as supply-managed vs. beef as an open market), farming practices (beef as more extensive vs. dairy as more intensive) and public perceptions of the two systems. In the second theme, participants showed mixed attitudes toward dairy-beef production and discussed their views about beef-on-dairy calves compared to purebred dairy calves, the management practices used to raise them, and the potential impacts of dairy-beef production on the beef industry. In the third theme, participants reflected on the future of dairy-beef production, discussing who should be involved in shaping the future of this practice. Participants showed mixed feelings towards the use of beef genetics in dairy herds, with some perceiving this as an opportunity for the beef industry to meet consumer demand and others expressing concern about the over-saturation of the beef market and possible threats to traditional ways of rearing beef. Our study enhances the understanding of the relationship between the dairy and beef industries in Western Canada and suggests the need for communication and collaboration among producers and others in the supply chain.
非留作种用的奶牛犊（即不用于补充奶牛群的公犊和母犊），因其在奶牛和肉牛行业的经济价值较低，可能面临多种福利挑战。将肉牛基因纳入奶牛群育种计划已变得很普遍，目的是培育出比纯种奶牛更适合肉牛生产的奶肉杂交犊牛。这种做法有可能增加奶农从非留作种用的奶牛犊身上获得的收入，但人们对其对肉牛养殖户的影响知之甚少。本研究旨在调查加拿大肉牛养殖户对奶肉生产的态度，重点关注奶牛场的奶肉育种策略如何影响肉牛行业。我们对加拿大西部的20位肉牛养殖户进行了半结构化访谈，探讨他们对奶肉杂交犊牛管理的认识、态度和建议。参与者（11名男性，9名女性）采用滚雪球抽样法招募，并按照半结构化访谈指南进行访谈。录音访谈（平均时长44 ± 15分钟）逐字转录，并采用归纳主题分析法进行分析，得出三个主要主题：1）奶牛与肉牛的关系，2）对奶肉杂交动物的态度，3）共同的未来。在第一个主题中，参与者讨论了奶牛和肉牛行业之间的关系，强调了加拿大市场结构的差异（奶牛行业受供应管理，而肉牛行业是开放市场）、养殖方式的差异（肉牛养殖更粗放，奶牛养殖更集约）以及公众对这两种体系的看法。在第二个主题中，参与者对奶肉生产表现出不同的态度，并讨论了他们对奶肉杂交犊牛与纯种奶牛犊相比的看法、用于饲养它们的管理方法以及奶肉生产对肉牛行业的潜在影响。在第三个主题中，参与者思考了奶肉生产的未来，讨论了谁应该参与塑造这种做法的未来。参与者对在奶牛群中使用肉牛基因的看法不一，一些人认为这是肉牛行业满足消费者需求的机会，另一些人则对肉牛市场的过度饱和以及对传统肉牛养殖方式可能构成的威胁表示担忧。我们的研究增进了对加拿大西部奶牛和肉牛行业之间关系的理解，并表明供应链中的生产者和其他各方需要进行沟通与合作。
