Different beef breed sires used for crossbreeding with Swedish dairy cows - effects on calving performance and carcass traits

•Field data for different beef x dairy breed crosses and dairy breeds were analyzed.•Beef x dairy crossbreds were superior to dairy breeds for carcass traits.•The improvement of carcass traits by crossbreeding was largest in young bulls.•The use of late maturing beef breeds as sires gave more difficult calvings.•Stillbirth was less or equally frequent in crossbred compared to dairy calves.