Profitability of Moderate Intensive Grazing of Dairy Cows in the Northeast

Abstract

Empirical analyses of the profitability of moderate grazing are presented based on sample dairy farms in Pennsylvania and New York. Net income per cow was higher for dairy farms that employed moderate intensive grazing than for dairy farms that employed extensive grazing. Income appeared to be adequate for family living expenses, but moderate intensive grazing could not be considered a high profit system. Detailed analyses of dairy farms that employed moderate and extensive grazing in northern Pennsylvania indicated that returns to management and owner equity were higher for pasture enterprises than for corn silage or hay enterprises. Positive dairy profits were related to lower feed costs. Milk production was lower on farms that employed moderate grazing than on farms that employed extensive grazing. Logit regression analysis characterized farms that employed moderate intensive grazing as oriented toward dairy rather than toward crop production; these farms had lower culling rates and a greater dependence on milk sales as a share of total sales. The reduced use of fertilizers and chemicals suggests that moderate grazing had environmentally sustainable features.