Dairy Farm Business Summary, Intensive Grazing Farms, New York, 2005

Abstract

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. This year we are celebrating the tenth year that a study of intensive grazing farms has been done. The table on page 4 provides a summary of the intensive grazing farms over the ten-year period. The farms included in the study are a subset of New York State farms participating in the Dairy Farm Business Summary (DFBS). Forty-five 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% of the forage consumed during the growing season was from grazing. Operators of these 45 farms were asked to complete a grazing practices survey. Thirty-four of the New York farms did complete it. The investigators had special interest in practices used on farms with above average profitability. Therefore the study centered on 42 New York farms which were not organic farms, were not first year grazers and on which at least 30 percent of forage consumed during the grazing season was grazed. The “Average Top 30% Farms” are thirteen farms with the highest labor and management incomes per operator per cow and are compared to the average of the 42 farms.