Extreme volatility and milk price fluctuation has farmers thinking about which areas they may be able to cut costs in. Adopted from New Zealand, the low-overhead dairy grazing system allows farmers to greatly reduce both fixed and variable costs of production while maintaining profitability over a larger set of milk and feed prices. Researchers from the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, Wallace Center, Winrock International, and Food System 6 are working together to expand the use of low-overhead grazing, giving farmers the opportunity to reap more flexibility, profitability, environmental, and social benefits.
Low-overhead grazing has a different look to it when it comes to its financial structure. This system primarily focuses on maximum nutrient intake from grazed pasture, a high through-put milking system, and minimal necessary investment in buildings and machinery.
While using this system, cows are grazed on pasture from May through October, dropping the cost of producing and purchasing feed dramatically. “Stored forages will be required for feeding in the nongrazing months, but the amount and the cost is significantly less than feeding stored forages year-round,” noted the researchers. Since cows will graze for their feed, this means they will also become their own manure spreader throughout the pasture, which can save many farmers labor costs and reduced on-farm risk. Contributing to labor efficiency, lower overhead grazing farms operate on a seasonal calving schedule, making only a certain period of the year busy. This means less labor will be needed year-round, in turn saving more money on labor expenses.
This system is also an alternative route for young farmers to get involved in the industry. With so much competition, it can be hard to get started in dairy farming. Utilizing lower overhead grazing provides farmers who may just be starting out the opportunity to minimize capital requirements needed to start a farm.
Outside of the barn, pasture is able to store nutrients better than most cropland, becoming denser over time. “Well-managed pastures will sequester carbon from the atmosphere and hold it in the soil, which can help mitigate global climate change,” cited the researchers.
“Grazing cows tend to have less incidence of disease, require less frequent antibiotic treatment, and have longer useful life in the herd,” they also added.
