From birth to weaning time, all steers were fed and treated in the same manner as dairy heifers. The bull calves were raised on each farm per the farm’s regular regimen. The steers were supplied by one of the project farms for uniformity, availability, and biosecurity reasons. Forty steers were placed on each of the three farms, twenty steers in two sub groups of ten were placed on the shelled corn diet and twenty steers in two sub groups of ten were placed on the forage diet. Three dairy farms were included in the project. Two diets were evaluated: forage and shelled corn mixed with a protein supplement. The project has been funded by Tillotson Charitable Foundation. The goal of this research was to provide additional income for dairy farms and cattle producers, and to give an opportunity to small scale producers or producers interested in raising dairy beef, but who do not have large amounts of land to support forage production. The project was conducted on dairy farms in Northern New Hampshire.

In addition, this research would increase demand and future development of the local agriculture infrastructure in the county such as – feed, equipment dealers, and veterinary services.

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether raising dairy steers is viable under different economic conditions, feeding methods, and marketing strategies to determine which program generates the greatest profit.

Raising bull calves