The market for specialty cheese, including pastured cheese, is growing rapidly. Graziers, cheesemakers and marketers need to know how pastured cheese is unique. This report describes research comparing the taste, texture and color of cheese made from the milk of exclusively pastured cows, cows that are pastured and given a grain supplement, and cows fed [...] [...more]

Grass Clippings is a quarterly newsletter that features grazing-related research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. The November issue features: Sire selection strategies for graziers Soil testing pastures The grazing research town hall meeting at the agronomy/soils field day Soil quality and the grass farm, part The place of pastures in UW-Madison agronomy history The Truttmann pasture walk Read this newsletter [...] [...more]

Managed grazing keeps dairy and other livestock farmers profitable, promotes good land stewardship, and can save taxpayers money. A new report by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, The Future of Managed Grazing: Barriers to managed grazing in Wisconsin and how to overcome them, includes recommendations for state government, the University of Wisconsin, and others to [...] [...more]

Grass Clippings is a quarterly newsletter linking Wisconsin graziers with University of Wisconsin researchers, extension, and US Dairy Forage Research Center personnel working in grazing and pasture management. This inaugural issue includes articles on outwintering, grazing dairy economics, soil quality and grants for grazing. Read this newsletter (pdf file) [...more]

When it comes to household income, farming background, age, and technology use, dairy farmers who use managed grazing aren”t all that different from farmers who operate more traditional dairy enterprises. A new report from the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) and Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (PATS) compares production systems, technology, labor, performance, and [...] [...more]

This report summarizes statewide information about Wisconsin dairy producers who use pasture and managed grazing as feeding and farm management tools. Surveys from random samples of Wisconsin dairy farmers conducted over the last decade by the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies provide information on how many farms, cows and acres are involved with managed grazing, how [...] [...more]

Management Intensive Rotational Grazing represents an increasingly attractive option for dairy farmers looking to cut costs and boost profits. The number of Wisconsin dairy farms practicing grazing has tripled in less than a decade. Academic literature on grazing has flourished along with the practice, but there is little available that summarizes grazing studies. There [...] [...more]

Farms using managed grazing typically produce less milk per cow than confinement farms. However, a series of economic studies in Wisconsin and elsewhere show that, for many dairy farmers, the savings they realize using managed grazing more than offsets the loss in milk revenues due to lower production. These studies show that grazing farms are [...] [...more]

A small but growing group of consumers is paying attention to the health benefits of milk and meat from animals raised on pasture. Meat and milk from grazed ruminants have higher levels of "good fat" than ruminants fed stored feeds. Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is one of those "good fats." Some people claim that CLA can inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors, enhance immunity, reduce cholesterol, and replace fat with muscle. Can dairy farmers raising cows on pasture capitalize on these health claims with specialty cheese? [...more]

Canada thistle is a big headache for livestock producers managing pastures. Animals won't eat this spiny, tough plant, reducing productivity of pastures and livestock. Despite being on Wisconsin's noxious weed list and a target for serious control for many years, it is still a significant, widespread problem. [...more]