The Business of Grazing--Making Dollars and Sense

 The Business of Grazing – Making Dollars and Sense

By Troy Bishopp

Seneca Falls, NY—The Empire Farm Days are known for showcasing the latest equipment, technology and management in today’s world of agriculture.  This year, in the midst of all the shiny new iron and field demonstrations, was a simple straight forward look at how managed grazing systems add to the profitability of a dairy farm.  The folks at Pro-Dairy, in cooperation with the Northeast Dairy Business Magazine, industry leaders and state grazing advocates brought together a cast of successful dairy graziers to share the good news of grass.  Why a grazing seminar now?  “Why not now, emphasized Eleanor Jacobs from the Pro-Dairy Program”.  “This topic was asked for by farmers last year and the timing couldn’t have been better as the price of inputs have risen dramatically.  We support moving the dairy industry forward with profitable strategies, which include making the most of our Northeast pasture resources, she added”.

Jason Karszes, Pro-Dairy Business Management Specialist, moderated the seminar,  which highlighted positive economic returns from the use of intensively grazed forages.  According to the latest Cornell Dairy Farm Business Summary, the biggest profit centers for grazing dairies over confinement farms were in reduced feed and fuel costs coupled with lower veterinary expenses and higher return on equity.  The distinguished panel all concurred with the findings and added their own “numbers” to the discussion.

Dave Forgey from Logansport Ind. touted his high quality pastures and stingy grain feeding (12 lbs./cow) which includes very little added protein and a non-existent vet bill, as keys to his success on their seasonal dairy of over 200 cows.

 Truxton, N.Y., organic dairy farmer, Kathie Arnold said that feeding high quality, well-managed pasture has reduced her feeding of protein down to 2 pounds per cow on their 125 cow dairy.  She also added that good cow health was as important as long term soil health for maintaining a profitable farm.

Garvin Button, of Jasper, N.Y. felt his success was attributed to concentrating on feeding high quality forage and lots of it as well as his cow’s excellent fertility.  “A well-functioning rumen makes for a happy cow and a happy farmer, he said”. 

Jon and Bev Rutter from Bridport, Vt. explained their smile for grazing by proclaiming they only had a vet bill of 1000 dollars for 450 cows last year and a cull rate of less then 10%. 

Rick Kersbergen with the University of Maine, discussed performance measures of organic farms in Maine and Vermont.  “The management of pasture resources were critical to offsetting feed and fuel costs on small farms, he said”.

All the guests had vivid memories on how they got started in grazing management and the steep learning curve, they and their animals incurred.  Jon said, “we adopted grazing purely for economics, not for the romantic notion you would expect.  We were losing money every day we walked in the barn”.  Jon and Bev started to read about the New Zealanders making milk for 6.00/hwt. and thought this grazing would be a viable option in their harsh climate.  “We started rotationally grazing the heifers and dry cows and gained a lot of confidence before we turned the dairy cows out”.  “We have never looked back and today we have an 18% return on our investment, better than the stock market, he snickered”.  He also cited grazing as a labor saver, meaning having labor hours devoted to cows makes him more money than machine hours.  All the farmers agreed that it was a challenging transition to go from confinement to a managed grazing system, but were glad they did, given the economic factors of today.  They credited grazing conferences, hands-on learning, mentors, grazing groups and lots of networking to gain the knowledge to succeed.

The discussion was followed by numerous questions from the packed audience.  Thoughts were shared on extending the grazing season, genetics, grain supplementation, watering facilities and frost seeding strategies.  The number one topic was the importance of good laneways and their management as no one liked mud, especially the Vermonters, who have received over 19 inches of rain this summer.

As the antique tractor parade assembled outside, one could remember that grazing was a big part of Northeast agriculture back then.  It’s funny to think that what is old, is now new again.  Watching this close-knit family of dairy graziers at this seminar, I would conclude that it never did go out of style.

For more information on this grazing seminar and the Cornell Farm Business Summary, contact Jason Karszes at 607-255-3809 or Eleanor Jacobs at (585) 237-3266

For grazing information contact the NYS Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative at (607) 334-4632  Published in Lancaster Farming and Dairy Business online  8/20/2008