Sustainable
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Where
farmers find and share information. | Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Flock To Pasture
Grazing operations double to nearly 4,000 farms in just two
years.
1/10/97: The use of pastures on Wisconsin dairy farms has increased
dramatically in recent years. Based on a series of extensive statewide
surveys, UW-Madison researchers estimate that almost half of the dairy farms in
Wisconsin now use pastures to some degree, and the number of farms using
management-intensive rotational grazing (MIRG) practices, a system in which
milking cows get most of their forage requirements from pastures during the
grazing season, has doubled in recent years.
According to Douglas
Jackson-Smith, a researcher with the Agricultural Technology and Family Farm
Institute at UW-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, between
1992 and 1994, MIRG operations doubled to nearly 4,000 farms, or roughly 14
percent of all dairy farms, and their numbers continue to grow.
Graziers
say the virtues of grass-based dairy farming include reduced input costs and
lower capital investments, along with reduced labor requirements, better
quality of family life, and reduced environmental impacts.
MIRG
farms apear to be economically competitive with other dairy farm types,
according to Jackson-Smith. MIRG farms typically have lower levels of milk
production than confinement farms. However, MIRG farmers report lower input
costs, lower and more flexible labor needs, and improved herd health than more
traditional confinement dairy farms. Since graziers generally have lower
investments in machinery and buildings, the average financial returns to
investments are actually higher among graziers than non-graziers.
Total farm income on MIRG farms is lower than on confinement farms because MIRG
dairy herds tend to be smaller. However, total household income of MIRG farms
was comparable to that of conventional farms. The lower farm income on MIRG
farms was often compensated for by higher off-farm income, according to
Jackson-Smith.
Compared with confinement farmers, MIRG
operators say they are more likely to expand their milking herds. This could
reflect greater optimism on the part of graziers. It also reflects the fact
that MIRG farms are smaller than conventional operations. Younger farmers on
smaller farms are particularly likely to expand, Jackson-Smith notes.
The study concludes that while MIRG farms could increasingly shape the
performance of Wisconsin's dairy sector and related industries, grazing's
current impact on milk production is small. However, if MIRG continues to
spread, its impact will become more significant.
For example,
some say that unless MIRG farms increase in size or productivity, the further
spread of MIRG could limit future growth in the supply of milk for Wisconsin's
cheese factories and other dairy processing plants. On the other hand, grazing
could allow producers to enter or stay in business who would otherwise not have
been milking cows, making MIRG a cornerstone of the future Wisconsin dairy
sector. MIRG farms have different input and information requirements than
confinement farms. This will affect demand for the services of dairy
cooperatives, input suppliers and university extension staff.
For copies of the full 64-page report (Grazing in Dairyland: The Use
and Performance of MIRG on Wisconsin Dairy Farms), or a 6-page summary of the
findings, contact Nancy Carlisle at: phone: (608) 265-2908 fax: (608)
265-3020 email: carlisle@ssc.wisc.edu
U.S. mail: 1450 Linden Drive, Room 146 Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
To discuss the research with the authors or for more information,
conact: Douglas Jackson-Smith phone: (608) 265-2953 fax: (608) 265-3020
email: dsmith@ssc.wisc.edu
Visit the Agricultural
Technology and Family Farm Institute web page.
For more
information on grazing techniques, go to the Grazing
Menu.
©1997 Committee for Sustainable
Farm Publishing
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