"The whole idea of this little calf, a week old, going through the yard process, going on that big long truck ride, through the abattoir, it's just not pretty from any angle," Ms Powles said.
Loading..."It's something that could turn around and bite us,"Mr Hancock said.
"In Tasmania, an abattoir got shut down after some footage was released at the end of last year.
"They're under 30 days old, they're not with their mother, and they're usually destined for early slaughter."
"We reared the Wagyu-Holstein cross calves for 12 weeks and were actually able to sell those animals and purchase anin-calf [pregnant] milking cow for that money," Mr Koch said.
"They're not getting their heads cut off and they've got a good life."
DAFF extension office Mark Bauer said Holstein and Holstein-beef cross animals easily reached weight and quality targets after following feeding advice from the US.