Low Overhead Dairy Grazing: Exploring the Current State of Dairy in the U.S. Midwest

On July 18, 2024, Wallace Center and Winrock International staff hosted their first farmer workshop in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Improving the Health of the Great Lakes through Profitable Low Overhead Dairy Grazing project. Funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, this project aims to provide custom assistance for technical and financial planning to a cohort of dairy farmers who are currently grazing and want to expand or improve their operations through reducing overhead costs or scaling their operations.

This project is expected to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen loss from farms while making farms more resilient to the “get big or get out” pressures of the dairy industry. The workshop style was a change from the Wallace Center’s typical practice of hosting on-farm field days — a change prompted by growing concerns over the spread of the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in the Midwest.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 human cases of avian influenza A(H5) infection have been reported in the U.S. since April. Four of those cases have been associated with exposure to sick dairy cows. In the interest of attendees’ safety, the Wallace Center team pivoted to an off-farm workshop visit hosted in the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. Thirty-five participants, including technical assistance providers, statewide agency staff, farmworkers and farmers learned about approaches to increasing efficiencies and profitability on dairy grazing operations.

Participants heard from presenters who dug into the challenges facing dairy graziers, provided feedback on levers for change and discussed specific ways dairy farms can be more resilient ecologically and financially.

Presenters included:

• Dr. Jon Winsten, senior project manager, Winrock International, who presented on the economics of low-overhead dairy grazing;
• Adam Abel, Wisconsin state grazing land specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, who presented on heifer grazing; and
• Ashley Hughes, producer services manager, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, who presented on PaddockTrac technology.

This free workshop was hosted in partnership with the Klessig family of Saxon Homestead Farm. Learn more about this fifth-generation family farm and its practices here.