Insetting, beef-on-dairy and a Gold Coast full of dairy producers thinking about the future

The Australian Dairy Conference on the Gold Coast brought together a strong cross-section of the dairy industry for two days of honest discussion about where things are heading, and Bobby and Will were there to be part of it.

One conversation that kept surfacing was beef-on-dairy: the growing practice of using beef genetics over dairy cows to produce calves with real value in the beef supply chain. It's been gaining serious momentum globally, and the Australian dairy sector is watching closely. For dairy producers managing surplus calves and tightening margins, the opportunity to turn what was once a low-value byproduct into a viable beef animal changes the economics of the whole enterprise. The emissions picture is interesting too because beef-on-dairy systems tend to carry a lower carbon footprint per unit of product than conventional beef, given the environmental overhead of the cow is attributed to the milk she produces.

For Will, the conference opened up conversations with a range of stakeholders about the opportunity of insetting through efficiency- keeping emissions reductions within the industry rather than purchasing offsets elsewhere. "It feels like there is a real commitment and motivation to keep those reductions within the dairy industry," he noted. That orientation, if it holds, has real implications for how the dairy sector positions itself as sustainability requirements tighten across global markets.

It was definitely two useful days on the Gold Coast! The dairy industry is asking good questions and, for the most part, looking for practical answers rather than waiting on policy to catch up.