Dairy Farm Business Summary: Intensive Grazing Farms New York 2011
Dairy farm managers throughout New York State have been participating in Cornell Cooperative Extension's farm business summary and analysis program since the early 1950's. Managers of each participating farm business receive a comprehensive summary and analysis of the farm business. The farms included in the study are a subset of New York State farms participating in the Dairy Farm Business Summary and Analysis Program (DFBS). Twenty-eight New York farms indicated that they grazed dairy cows at least three months, moving to a fresh paddock at least every three days and more than 30 percent of the forage consumed during the growing season wasfrom grazing. Operators of these 28 farms were asked to complete a grazing practices survey. Twenty-one of the farms did complete it. The study centered on 28 New York farms which were not organic farms and were not first year grazers. Throughout the study, the grazing dairies are compared to the “Non-Grazers”, which are 58 farms with similar herd size to the 28 grazing farms.