Given New Zealand’s unique agricultural landscape, characterized by a disproportionately large dairy herd (6 million cows) compared to its traditional beef herd (1 million), the opportunity for beef from dairy integration is immense. Major players like Southern Pastures are now strategically building beef as a co-product of dairying, moving beyond the historical “byproduct” perception. This integrated model is essential for achieving scale and stability, as traditional beef spot market trading models often prove unsustainable.

The dairy sector’s advanced use of technology within the grass-based pasture system provides a significant advantage for this integration. According to experts, this technological leadership, combined with the sheer scale of dairy production, presents a “wonderful opportunity to create continuous improvement” in beef from dairy systems. This synergy allows for greater efficiency and innovation in agribusiness.

Lee Leachman, CEO of Leachman Cattle USA, highlighted the ongoing beef central data revolution, where his company focuses on profit-driven genetics to build “better genetic programmes to produce cows to drive farmer profitability.” A new composite private label breed, Profit Maker, developed with Rissington, is specifically designed to “nick well with Kiwi cross dairy cows” with a singular focus on profit, demonstrating that “breed is just a tool, not a religion” in modern dairy-beef integration.