What is Grass-Based Dairy Farming?

What is Managed Dairy Grazing, or “Grass-Based” Dairy Farming?

Simply put, managed dairy grazing is the practice of regularly moving cows to fresh grass. The farmer carefully determines when, where and how cows graze based on factors such as pasture growth and the cows’ nutrition requirements. It’s a way of farming that requires a specific knowledge set and high-level technical and management skills.

Managed grazing mimics natural prairie ecosystems that used to support large grazing herds, such as bison. In a managed grazing system, cows eat grass and spread organic matter as they graze, which reduces energy use as well as the cost of feed production, harvest and storage.
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Managed dairy grazing allows dairy cows, which are ruminants, to do what comes naturally: live most of their lives on pasture eating grass. By rotating the cows through high quality paddocks with long rest periods for the grass to regrow, managed dairy grazing regenerates soil health, reduces the use of fossil fuel, sequesters carbon, minimizes soil erosion, and protects waterways and
critical wildlife habitats.

This type of grazing, done well, has proven itself to be an environmentally friendly, successful business model that can revitalize rural communities and American dairy farms — putting more farmers on the land and
keeping them there.

To learn more about DGA’s Grass-Based Dairy Model, the “New Dairy Concept,” click click here