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When managed well, a pasture-based grazing system can lead to optimal dairy cow health and high quality, nutrient dense milk, but when managed poorly the same system can fail both livestock and forage. Dr. Greg Brickner from the Organic Valley veterinary team discusses the nutritional needs of the dairy cow and the grazing practices that can produce high quality forage to meet these needs.

This session covers:

• Strategies for increasing butterfat
• controlling MUN levels
• pasture management
• supplementing pasture as needed

The post Dairy Grazing Strategies for Optimal Nutrition appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Fluid milk sales have been declining for decades in the United States, while milk production has nearly doubled over the same time period. This has made it exceedingly challenging for small dairy farms to remain financially viable in today’s markets.

In response, many small dairies are looking toward diversifying their revenue streams with direct-market, value-added dairy product enterprises. This could be a promising strategy: Though fluid milk consumption in the United States has fallen, consumption of value-added dairy products like yogurt and cheese has risen.

In this brief, you’ll read the stories of three dairy farms that enlisted the help of a consultant to take a hard look at their proposed or existing creamery enterprises. By reading these stories, you’ll gain perspective on what might be accomplished through a similar creamery consulting process for your own dairy operation.

The post The Farmstead Creamery: Consulting for Success appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

These data indicate that grass-based dairy farms can provide environmental benefits to a local watershed, but due to a lower efficiency in milk production, they may increase the aggregate environmental impacts of regional and global supply chains.

Download the article for a full explanation of our methods and findings. 

This study was conducted in collaboration with USDA / Agricultural Research Service and findings were published in Agricultural Systems in September 2020. 

The post An environmental assessment of grass-based dairy appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Join Pasa for a presentation and conversation with organic, grass-fed dairy farmer Ron Holter, of Frederick County, Maryland, as he attempts to answer this question. Ron will present on his multi-generational grazing dairy farm in Maryland, including his work developing grass-fed genetics for his herd and others. Ron has been grazing cows since 1995 and certified organic since 2005. He began line-breeding in his herd in 2006, and developed his first bull for marketing grass-fed genetics the same year he transitioned to 100% grass on the farm, in 2007. The webinar will end with a conversation and attendee questions.

This webinar is offered free of charge through support from a USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant.

Speaker Information

Ron Holter is a fifth-generation dairy farmer in Frederick County, Maryland. Ron transitioned his family’s dairy to organic 20 years ago, and now manages a 100 percent grass-fed herd. He also breeds and sells grass-fed genetics from his own herd. Ron’s son, Adam, works alongside his father and is in-line to be the sixth-generation owner/operator of the family farm.

The post Grass-fed Genetics appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

The grass-fed dairy and beef market is growing, but raising grass-fed animals can be a challenge. In this webinar, Delaware Valley University professor Chris Gambino will discuss rumen development in the pre-weaned calf, and the role grain can play at this critical time of life. Is grain necessary for the proper rumen function? If a certification does not allow grain to be fed, how does the livestock manager assure good health in the calf? Chris will look at current and developing research around this important area of livestock management.

Speaker information

Christopher Gambino is an assistant professor of animal science at Delaware Valley University. His teaching focuses on livestock feeding and nutrition, organic livestock management, and the policies of aligning agriculture production with environmental outcomes. He received his PhD in animal science from Washington State University, where he studied how nitrogen cycles in dairy and beef production systems. He researched rumen microbial populations, fed-nitrogen loss, and nutrient loss from manure management strategies. He also holds a graduate certificate in sustainable agriculture from Washington State University.

The post Grass, Grain & the Developing Rumen appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

The post My Soil Health is Excellent, Now What: Improving Efficiency at Blue Mountain View Farm appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.

Farmer Matt Bomgardner of Blue Mountain View dairy farm discusses the economics and logic behind various management decisions on his third-generation dairy farm in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

Once a primarily confined operation, Matt and his family have worked to incorporate more grazing into their management systems at Blue Mountain View—which is in the process of obtaining its organic registration—to create a more resilient farm operation. Matt and his family have been working with a profit team since 2011 to hone their management skills.

During this webinar, Matt shares the history and profile of his farm and discusses topics such as labor efficiencies, production income versus expenses, and herd genetics and grazing tactics, including maximizing stocking rates. Duane Hertzler, a longtime grazier and member of Matt’s profit team, joins the conversation as well.

This webinar is a good opportunity for those looking to begin or increase grazing strategies within their dairy operation to gain a better understanding of both the challenges and benefits of these practices. Current graziers will also benefit from this profile of a grazing dairy that has worked hard on understanding the numbers behind their management decisions.

The post Integrating Grazing in the Modern Dairy appeared first on Pasa Sustainable Agriculture.