Netherlands: Cattle markets adjust calf prices for white-blue crosses

Up until now, for example, the heaviest category of animals in Leeuwarden was 50 kilos and heavier. 'The weight classes were established 15 years ago. Since then, a lot of Belgian Blue sperm has been used in dairy farming. That leads to somewhat heavier calves', chairman Andries Kingma of the livestock market in Leeuwarden motivates the introduction of a new weight class. Another factor is that there is a lot of difference in weight for crossbred calves. 'With a category for calves over 60 kilos, the heavier calves are better valued', says Kingma. Blue plus 55 kilos The current quotations show the effect of weight on the price. At the livestock market in Purmerend, which already uses 55 kilos as the maximum weight, a crossbred calf that weighs more than this ...