Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers (Research Brief #37)

Wisconsin has suffered dramatic losses in numbers of dairy farms. While the decrease in part includes large numbers of retiring dairy farmers, the lack of young people entering dairy farming is an even more significant factor in the decline. To reverse that trend a creative approach is needed to make dairy farming more attractive. The […] more

Stocker cattle convert pasture to profits (Research Brief #36)

Purchasing calves (stockers) in spring and selling them in the fall as feeder cattle may be a way to convert pasture to profit for those with a surplus of grass but not a lot of facilities. But managing pasture, animals, costs, and markets plays a key role in determining the level of profit producers can […] more

Outwintering dairy cattle: the fate of manure components (Research Brief #35)

Farmers who wish to outwinter their cattle to decrease facility and labor costs can do so in environmentally sound ways. In a study conducted during the winter of 1997-98, manure from outwintered cattle on three Wisconsin dairy farms retained nutrients rather than releasing them to the environment where they could pollute ground or surface water. […] more

Grazing’s potential: expansion’s effects on cash flow (Research Brief #31)

All farm types examined here, particularly the low and medium investment farms with high levels of debt, may find an expansion involving sweat equity to be the best option for them.- Rick Klemme Grazing-based dairy farmers considering expanding their herds and constructing labor- saving parlors need to consider the expansion’s effect on profitability carefully. (See […] more

Grazing’s potential: predicting expansion’s cost, profit (Research Brief #30)

Many successful graziers, confident in their grazing and management skills, are now asking: Will an expansion pay for a labor-saving parlor within a modified seasonal calving system to allow me and my family a better of quality of life? Probably, according to the models formulated by a team of UW-Madison and Extension economists, but it […] more

Women on dairy farms: juggling roles and responsibilities (Research Brief #29)

If you want to know how important women are to running a dairy farm in Wisconsin, just ask farm couples. Six hundred farm couples were surveyed about their roles on dairy farms as part of a University of Wisconsin study. The research reveals the diversity of women’s roles on Wisconsin dairy farms-from raising calves and […] more

Outwintering dairy cattle: manure management issues (Research Brief #28)

The sparkling, frozen world of Wisconsin in winter presents several challenges to its dairy farmers. One of these challenges is how to manage dairy cattle wastes so that nutrients and organic matter are added to fields and pastures instead of streams and water sources. Ed Brick, a civil and environmental engineer, has completed the first […] more

Outwintering dairy cattle: animal health issues (Research Brief #27)

Farmers are finding that dairy cattle are a lot tougher and more resourceful than they have been given credit for. —Ed Brick Can dairy cattle stay healthy and comfortable outside during a Wisconsin winter? The answer appears to be yes, with careful management, according to findings from the first year of a two-year CIAS outwintering […] more