Dairy Farm Business Summary, Intensive Grazing Farms, New York, 2008

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. 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). Forty-two 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 42 farms were asked to complete a grazing practices survey. Twenty-two of the farms did complete it. The study centered on 31 New York farms which were not organic farms and were not first year grazers. The “Non-Grazers” are 104 farms with similar herd size to the grazing farms and are compared to the average of the 31 grazing farms.