Dairy farming is the single biggest land use in the Great Lakes Basin. The sector is rapidly consolidating toward large confinement-feeding operations. Feeding dairy cows with well-managed pasture can reduce costs, protect water quality, and fight climate change. However, maximizing efficiency will increase the the probability of long-term financial viability of grazing dairies. Low-overhead dairy grazing can reduce both variable and fixed costs of production which can allow farms to be profitable even at low milk prices. Through a new project, the Winrock/Wallace Center team will work with farmers, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, Food System 6, and other partners to support low-overhead dairy grazing.
Services
This project will help dairy farmers in the Great Lakes Basin to create the necessary technical and business plans to shift toward larger-herd, low-overhead dairy grazing operations. We will provide a range of free services customized to each farm, which may include (depending on farmers’ goals):
Photos of Low Overhead Dairy Grazing
Resources
Grazing: Economies of scale to lower overhead costs >>
This article, published in 2023 in Progressive Forage, describes Dr. Jon Winsten’s work on dairy grazing systems and the efficiencies of the large herd, low overhead model.
Project Handout >>
Low-overhead dairy grazing can give farmers greater flexibility and profitability, as well as contribute to quantifiable environmental and social benefits. This document provides an overview of the context of dairy in the Upper Midwest and a brief description of the benefits of low-overhead dairy grazing.