Management Intensive Grazing to Enhance Heifer Rearing on Large Dairies in the Northeast

• 2010 annual report

According to the New York State Agricultural Statistics there are 500,000 heifers raised in New York each year to be replacements for the state’s 630,000 dairy herd. Approximately half of the heifers are on farms with 500 or more milking animals. The vast majority of these heifers are raised in confinement housing, fed stored feeds, and their manure is included into the farm’s CAFO plan. Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) has been shown to reduce soil erosion by utilizing permanent pastures to replace the row crop production of stored feeds. Due to the use of MIG: manure handling is eliminated reducing labor and energy usage, animals harvesting their own forage also reduces labor and energy use and provides a feed which is higher protein and lower NDF, both necessary to good heifer nutrition. In addition, previous research has shown that MIG produces heifers which reach physical maturity in the same time as confinement for a lower cost. Additional research completed by the Principal Investigator for this project showed the first lactation health and performance of MIG raised heifers was enhanced by reducing the metabolic problems during postpartum. The problem is that very few large dairies perceive grazing as an acceptable method of raising their replacement heifers. The PI for the project was interviewing a prospective client for his grazing operation. The client owned two farms both with over 1000 milking animals; the farmer expressed interest in custom raising, but wanted to know how the animals would get back to the barn to be fed. It was explained that the heifers would stay in the pasture to eat grass. At this point, the client said “My heifers need more than just grass” This conversation was echoed at a pasture walk attended by custom graziers. They felt there was great opportunity to work with large dairies and provide them with well grown heifers that were healthier and cheaper. The barrier was that the large dairy’s perception of grazing was the old version of grazing, which was putting a group of heifers in a single pasture in June and going back to get them in September. This project will change that view through the following goals: • Develop economic, technical and management resources to help larger dairy farms who wish to build a heifer grazing systems on their farms. • Educate custom grazers on the opportunity and method to safely graze dairy heifers on their farms. • House these resources on a website for easy access; these resources will be applicable to the northeast as well as any area that produces cool season grasses.