Does Grazing Have A Place (Continued from Page 28) milk prices, increasing feed costs, and the increase in all farm costs, which resulted in shrinking profit mar gins’ Many dairy “graziers” are now increasing herd size to generate the income needed for the goals and life style of their farm families. In Pennsylvania, there are many grazing herds above 80 to 100 cows, with five to six herds between 200 to 400 cows. A 1999 farm business analysis study examined the performance and profitability of grazing farms in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York. Average profita bility, based on net farm income (NFI)/cow, ranged from $543 to $796/cow. High-producing grazing herds averaged $l,lOO NFI/cow in Michigan (average herd size of 132 cows) and $923 NFI/cow in New York (average herd size of 53 cows.) The top 20 percent of large non-grazing herds (aver age of 823 cows) averaged $BOB NFI/cow in New York. The figures comparing well-managed grazing and herds indicate that the NFI/cow is similar or slightly better in grazing herds. Obviously the larger herd sizes of nongrazing operations in the study result in higher total farm income. Does grazing have a place with larger, confinement herds? A common observation from pasture-based farms in the U.S. and other countries is that cows are | TRIPLE H Construction 430 Springville Road, Ephrata, PA 17522 r /t Vm 717-738-2142 • 1-(800)-874-7531 • 1-(800)-TRIPLE-1 website: www.TripleHConst.com Custom Builders of Dairy, Horse, Storage, Residential & Commercial Buildings older and average four to five lactations per cow, sub stantially more than commonly found with confine ment operations. The nonvoluntary culling rates in grazing herds are often 10 to 15 percent lower than with confinement op erations. Foot health and lameness are a major issue to dairy producers because of increasing occurrence and eco nomic losses. The major types of foot problems in cluding foot rot, heel erosions, laminitis, ulcers, and digital dermatitis (hairy warts) contribute to major losses estimated to be a minimum of $9O to $lOO/case. These losses are often subtle, and include body weight loss and decreased milk yield, dry matter intake, and herd longevity, and reproductive efficiency. Getting cows off concrete for a few months a year should be beneficial to foot health. The current high price of re placement heifers makes lower culling rates quite prof itable. As a sidebar, foot health is not a topic that is very high on the “radar screen” in the world in pasture-based countries. Many graziers in Pennsylvania have adopted a “hybrid” system, which combines pasture with a pTMR, which uses the existing equipment and feedstuffs on a farm. In a recent research study at Penn State, cows that grazed for Vi day, where they consumed about 16 pounds of pasture dry matter (DM) and were fed a pTMR for the other V 2 day, pro duced seven pounds more milk/cow/day (70 vs. 63 to P Cumberland Valley TSPF Heifer Service Agway’s New 3,600 Head Heifer Facility Facilitu Includes: (6) 192’ wet barns each housing 46 calves (2) 192’ weaning barns each housing 120 calves (5) freestall barns with flush, measuring 708’, 918’, 900’, 768’, 730’ - 3084 total freestalls ur experience with agricultural needs. In an agricultural can absolutely trust to handle Give .Us A Call! b 6 please toshow somcof our ceihfletedfacilities
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers