@article {3672,
	title = {The fate of calves born on New Zealand dairy farms and dairy farmer attitudes towards producing dairy-beef calves},
	journal = {New Zealand Journal of Animal Science and Production},
	volume = {81},
	year = {2021},
	month = {01/2022},
	pages = {179-185},
	address = {Online},
	abstract = {Dairy calves that are not required as herd replacements provide an opportunity for beef production with a relatively low environmental footprint. A telephone survey of 262 New Zealand dairy farmers was conducted in October 2020 to gain insight into current mating and calving practices, and attitudes to dairy-beef breeding and rearing calves for beef. This number of respondents provided a margin of error of {\textpm}6\%. On average, per herd, 28\% of calves were kept as dairy replacements, 12\% were reared on-farm for beef, 15\% sold for beef rearing, 35\% sold to process as {\textquoteleft}bobby{\textquoteright} calves, 5\% euthanised and 4\% born dead or died. The largest barriers to producing more beef calves were uncertainty around their value, followed by calving difficulties with beef bulls. The main barrier to rearing more calves for beef was higher earnings for milk than for beef. However, 60\% of respondents agreed that the sector should aim to decrease the number of {\textquoteleft}bobby{\textquoteright} calves. This survey provides data for the development of cross-sector initiatives to increase dairy-beef integration and the utilisation of calves. These results provide a rich description of the current state of the sector and they suggest that at least 74\% of New Zealand beef production originates in the dairy industry.

Keywords: dairy calf; dairy-beef; bobby calf; calf rearing; mating},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Edwards JP and Cuthbert S and Pinxterhuis JB and McDermott A}
}
@conference {41552,
	title = {The cost of alleviating the pain caused by the castration of beef calves},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {65},
	year = {2005},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {123-126},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	address = {Christchurch},
	abstract = {  The pain caused by husbandry procedures such as dehorning or castration is of concern to those with an interest  in animal welfare. In the future farmers will be encouraged and perhaps obliged to provide analgesia for animals  subjected to these procedures. In New Zealand in the last decade veterinarians have developed a service for disbudding  dairy calves using the sedative xylazine and local anaesthesia and this has become popular with some dairy farmers.  This paper reports a financial analysis of the impact to the individual farmer and nationally of using different forms of  analgesia when castrating calves. Four scenarios and their costs were analysed: (1) the status quo ($0.28/calf); (2) the  use of local anaesthesia with increased labour costs ($1.56/calf); (3) the use of local anaesthesia plus systemic analgesia  with increased labour costs ($5.45/calf); and (4) the employment of a veterinarian to do the castration ($9.39/calf).  National costs ranged from $160,000 to $5,368,700 ($10 to $351 per farm) for the four scenarios. The proposed  scenarios were more expensive than the status quo but were still small relative to average total farm costs, i.e. $170,974  on New Zealand sheep and beef farms in 2001-02. These figures do not include any allowance for the cost of the  inconvenience of having to organise husbandry activities around veterinary visits. Farmers may resist the imposition any  of these 3 scenarios. In future the use of analgesics may become standard farm practice.   

},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Stafford KJ and Mellor DJ and Dooley AE and Smeaton D and McDermott A}
}
@conference {41829,
	title = {Identifying opportunities to add value to the New Zealand beef industry : a modelling approach},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {65},
	year = {2005},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {252-255},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	address = {Christchurch},
	abstract = {A model of the New Zealand beef value chain, from conception to export, was constructed. The model is parameterised at the national level so that issues and opportunities within the beef industry can be examined at a high level by researchers and industry participants. Working with numerous key informants from throughout the beef industry, the researchers developed a conceptual model of the beef value chain and then constructed the model in a spreadsheet. The model is capable of modelling changes in farm practice, market situations and the industry structure. This model and a range of scenarios have been demonstrated to a range of beef industry participants facilitating considerable debate. To illustrate the power and value of the model in evaluating change and facilitating debate within the beef sector, three scenarios are presented and compared with the status quo.
KEYWORDS: value chain; scenario evaluation; beef; model. },
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {McDermott A and Dooley AE and Smeaton DC}
}
