Management and Economic Implications of Intensive Grazing on Dairy Farms in the Northeastern States

Abstract

The effects of intensive grazing by dairy cattle on annual herbage utilization, forage and crop production, and net returns were compared with a drylot feeding system for a typical Pennsylvania dairy farm using linked spreadsheet models. The 80-ha case farm supported a herd of 53 cows and 48 replacements with a herd average of 6800 kg of milk/yr per cow. Annual feed consumption for the grazing farm included 173, 182, and 118 tonnes of pasture, stored forage, and concentrate DM, respectively. Corresponding tonnes of DM for the drylot feeding system were 47, 293, and 114. Net herbage production of 6589 kg of DM/ha was used for grazing (5350 kg of DM/ha) and for hay (970 kg of DM/ha), and 269 kg/ha were not utilized on the grazing farm. On the confined farm, herbage was used primarily for hay (4484 kg of DM/ha) rather than for grazing (1446 kg of DM/ha), and herbage loss amounted to 659 kg of DM/ha. The gross margin was $121 per cow higher on the grazing farm. Despite this potential to improve the profitability of dairy farms, the low usage of intensive grazing in the northeastern US is likely to continue until dairy producers become confident 1) that milk production per cow can be maintained at a level similar to that for confined feeding or 2) that the relative price of concentrates, stored forage, and pasture change to favor grazing more. © 1992, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.