Australia’s dairy industry generates a substantial number of non-replacement dairy calves (also called surplus calves) each year. Historically many of these calves had limited value and uncertain market pathways, contributing to ongoing animal welfare and social licence challenges.

There is an opportunity to create value from these calves within commercial beef systems. With appropriate genetics, feeding and management, dairy-origin cattle can meet market specifications and deliver improved production and eating quality outcomes.

Despite this, adoption remains constrained by knowledge, confidence, market understanding and supply chain coordination.

Dairy Australia's CalfWays Roadmap aims to improve the welfare and value of non-replacement calves across the dairy industry. Complementing this work, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Dairy Australia are delivering the Growing Beef from Dairy (GBfD) initiative to support best practice adoption across the beef from dairy production system and strengthen commercially viable market pathways for dairy-origin cattle.

As part of the GBfD initiative, on-farm demonstration sites will be established to demonstrate practical production systems, build producer capability and support adoption through peer-to-peer learning and on-farm demonstration.

MLA is supporting industry fast track a transition from paper to digital consignments using electronic National Vendor Declarations (eNVD), and ultimately to paperless consignments. Via the MLA Donor Company (MDC) MLA is making available a co-funding opportunity to support value chain stakeholders such as processors, livestock agencies, saleyards, transporters, integrated companies and their supply chain, including software providers, shift towards digital NVDs.

eNVDs address the inefficiencies of paper-based NVDs including NVDs becoming lost, outdated, incomplete and illegible, resulting in challenges capturing the robust data required to underpin market access. eNVDs also provide receivers such as processors, transporters, agents and saleyards, with consignment information ahead of livestock arrival allowing easy information exchange, real-time corrections, removing manual and duplicative data entry requirements, enabling data to be used across multiple systems and reducing processing time by the receivers. 

Woody thickening, native woody vegetation encroachment, and the spread of woody weeds are increasingly impacting northern Australian rangelands, affecting pasture productivity, livestock performance, biodiversity, and long-term landscape condition.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking experienced applicants to develop and undertake a project which seeks to improve understanding of woody vegetation dynamics and their impacts through integrated spatial analysis, ecological research and production system modelling. The project will also identify practical, cost-effective management strategies that balance productivity, biodiversity and landscape resilience. It will strengthen early detection and response capabilities for woody weeds and support adoption through targeted extension and demonstration activities.

Woody thickening, native woody vegetation encroachment, and the spread of woody weeds are increasingly impacting northern Australian rangelands, affecting pasture productivity, livestock performance, biodiversity, and long-term landscape condition.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking experienced applicants to develop and undertake a project which seeks to improve understanding of woody vegetation dynamics and their impacts through integrated spatial analysis, ecological research and production system modelling. The project will also identify practical, cost-effective management strategies that balance productivity, biodiversity and landscape resilience. It will strengthen early detection and response capabilities for woody weeds and support adoption through targeted extension and demonstration activities.

MLA is supporting industry fast track a transition from paper to digital consignments using electronic National Vendor Declarations (eNVD), and ultimately to paperless consignments. Via the MLA Donor Company (MDC) MLA is making available a co-funding opportunity to support value chain stakeholders such as processors, livestock agencies, saleyards, transporters, integrated companies and their supply chain, including software providers, shift towards digital NVDs.

eNVDs address the inefficiencies of paper-based NVDs including NVDs becoming lost, outdated, incomplete and illegible, resulting in challenges capturing the robust data required to underpin market access. eNVDs also provide receivers such as processors, transporters, agents and saleyards, with consignment information ahead of livestock arrival allowing easy information exchange, real-time corrections, removing manual and duplicative data entry requirements, enabling data to be used across multiple systems and reducing processing time by the receivers. 

Australia’s dairy industry generates a substantial number of non-replacement dairy calves (also called surplus calves) each year. Historically many of these calves had limited value and uncertain market pathways, contributing to ongoing animal welfare and social licence challenges.

There is an opportunity to create value from these calves within commercial beef systems. With appropriate genetics, feeding and management, dairy-origin cattle can meet market specifications and deliver improved production and eating quality outcomes.

Despite this, adoption remains constrained by knowledge, confidence, market understanding and supply chain coordination.

Dairy Australia's CalfWays Roadmap aims to improve the welfare and value of non-replacement calves across the dairy industry. Complementing this work, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Dairy Australia are delivering the Growing Beef from Dairy (GBfD) initiative to support best practice adoption across the beef from dairy production system and strengthen commercially viable market pathways for dairy-origin cattle.

As part of the GBfD initiative, on-farm demonstration sites will be established to demonstrate practical production systems, build producer capability and support adoption through peer-to-peer learning and on-farm demonstration.