 | What is managed grazing?
Managed grazing is a system of
raising and feeding livestock on pasture in which the livestock are moved on
regular basis--typically daily-- to new pasture. This gives the livestock access
to high quality feed, prevents waste, and allows for good nutrient distribution. Also, it
gives the former pasture a chance to rest and re-grow. Because the
livestock harvest their own feed and spread their own manure during the grazing
season, costs are greatly reduced for meat and dairy production.
Livestock health is good, and vet costs are low. Because the land is in
sod--grasses and legumes such as clover and alfalfa-- the topsoil (and
nutrients) stays in place, leaving little chance for runoff or erosion.
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| How well can grazing pay? Better
than many careers out there.
View the 2007 results
from these real, top notch, Wisconsin and Iowa dairy farms:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/NR/rdonlyres/B090C051-8602-4456-B3D6-1ED769C2D495/72601/ShowMetheMoney08.pdf
Can a start-up dairy farm make it
today? Darn right they can.
See how one well run
start up farm has done the past five years: Could you raise a family on
this income?
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/NR/rdonlyres/B090C051-8602-4456-B3D6-1ED769C2D495/72600/ShowMetheMoneyBeg.pdf
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| Grazing is the most profitable way to dairy farm today
UW Center for Dairy Profitability
reports that for the past ten years managed grazing farms in Wisconsin have
been the most profitable per hundred weight of milk sold.
http://cdp.wisc.edu/Great%20Lakes.htm
Net Farm
Income from Operations (NFIFO) per Hundredweight Equivalent of Milk Sold (CWT
EQ) Under Different Wisconsin Dairy Systems
(US Dollars)
Year
|
Managed Grazing |
Traditional
Confinement |
Large Modern Confinement |
|
2001 |
4.48 |
2.61 |
1.85 |
|
2000 |
3.20 |
1.68 |
.51 |
|
1999 |
4.56 |
2.97 |
2.16 |
|
1998 |
5.45 |
3.51 |
2.36 |
|
1997 |
3.55 |
1.99 |
.95 |
|
1996 |
4.13 |
3.07 |
2.20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Multiple Year Simple Average NFIFO/CWT EQ |
4.16 |
2.64 |
1.67 |
From:
A Seven Year Economic Look at Wisconsin Dairy Systems
Tom Kriegl and Gary Frank
January 3, 2004
Center for Dairy Profitability, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and
Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin – Madison.
http://cdp.wisc.edu.
|
|
Who wants
to be a millionaire? article
discusses real grazing farms in Wisconsin and Iowa well on there way to
attaining a million dollars in equity, and making a good living--$100,000/year+
with 150 cows.
A.
Model
Grazing Farms Financial Comparison 2002.pdf
B.
Model Grazing Farms
Financial Comparison 2004.pdf
Managing Dairy Finance.pdf explains terms used in the financial
comparisons
|
|
Cows Eat Grass
a fun article for school aged children describing grazing and it's benefits.
|
| Feed Planning for grazing.
Make the most of your pastures.
To make the most of your pastures you will
need to do some planning and then monitor your pastures throughout the grazing
season. Make a
Rising Plate Meter and walk your pastures with it once every week to 10
days, until you learn to estimate pasture dry matter--then you can leave it at
home. Use the
Pasture
Cover Recording Sheet as you walk through your pastures every week
to 10 days. Then, plot the information into the
GrazingWedge.
You may also find the
Paddock Intake & Size Calculator.xls is a useful tool to help you know how
much pasture to allocate to your livestock for a given time period. You
will need Microsoft Excel to use the spreadsheet.
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