Jim Cropper wrote:
> Where is grazing not permit? Why?
I think I have talked about this before, but as the farms get larger, they
reach a point that it is no longer possible to graze due to practical
limitations. From what others have said in past years, such as Micheal
Murphy, well known grazing dairyman from Ireland, is that 400 cows or so
seems to be around that limit. The 1,000 cow farms, of which we have now
have one here in Vernon County, are restricted on what they can do in order
to meet the nutrient management requirements for a CAFO. It becomes more
appropriate for them to go to a full confinement model to meet those much
more stringent requirements than for the small farms which ironically are
the most polluting.
The 1,000 cow farm mentioned above, was previously the largest grazing dairy
farm in our county and used to have several hundred cows, with a split herd,
no unlike the way large scale grazier/confinement operators such as Charlie
Opitz's dairy operations are run.
Now they are the largest confinement farm in the county. The next largest
farms are around 400 cows from what I understand but they are all
confinement. All expanding dairy farms that I know of are all confinement
although they are still small enough that they could theoretically be
grazing farms, but in every case that I have talked to the farmers operating
expansion farms, they do not care for the grazing model.
Sincerely,
Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Grass-Fed Beef and farm produce
Viroqua, WI
www.mistyridgefarm.com
