For a better tomorrow
In Action 2005
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.
Margaret Mead
Where is River Country RC&D?
Our Purpose
To bring people and resources
together to address issues and
opportunities, to conserve our
natural resources, promote
sustainability and improve the
quality of life for people who live in
the River Country area
River Country
Helps Conserve
Our Natural
Resources
River Country
Helps Strengthen
the Agricultural
and Rural
Community
River Country Grazing Initiative and
Management Intensive Grazing
River Country Grazing Initiative
Why the Initiative?
The Late 1990s Were Hard On The
Dairy Farming Community In The
River Country RC&D Area.
On Average:
4 Dairy Farms Were Lost Per
Week !!!
River Country Grazing Initiative
Dairy and other Livestock
Farmers Were Looking For
Ways To Remain Competitive
Without Having To Expand ...
River Country Grazing Initiative
The River Country Council
was looking for ways to
prevent the significant
loss of the agriculture
economy in the rural
communities
River Country Grazing Initiative
A Possible Answer:
Managed Intensive
Grazing (MIG)
Systems
Why: Because It’s A Viable
Alternative That Is Size
Neutral.
River Country Grazing
Initiative
• Together:
Farmers, Agency Personnel and the
River Country RC&D Coordinator,
and River Country Council members
pulled together a grant to determine if
a need for grazing education and
technical services really existed.
River Country Grazing Initiative
Primary Objectives of the Grant
• Meet With Existing Agencies To Determine What Was Being
Done To Service This Growing Agricultural Sector.
•
Meet With Farmers (In Groups And One On One) To Determine
The Level Of Support Needed.
•
Develop Managed Grazing Plans For 24 Producers WithIn
The River Country Area.
•
Assist In Building Partnerships That Will Assist In Handling
The MIG Workload.
River Country Grazing
Initiative
The Program was Completely Successful !!
All objectives were exceeded.
And the results were:
1. River Country Continued MIG Service
2. WI NRCS added a Grazing Specialist to the
area.
River Country Grazing Initiative
What have we accomplished
in our area since 1999:
 Planned And Implemented Over 15,000
Acres Of Grazing Lands
(160 Grazing Plans)

Contacted And Provided Services To
Over 1,400 Land Owners
River Country Grazing Initiative
Coordinated And Hosted :
 103 Pasture Walks
 34 Grass Series Walks
 12 Specialized Pasture
Walks
 14 Specialized Winter
Meetings
River Country Grazing Initiative
Currently, Fund-raisers, Grants And
Donations Finance The Grazing
Positions At River Country.
The Council Continues To Search For
Additional Partners And Funding To
Maintain And Expand The Program.
River Country Grazing Initiative
Provided Input And Teamed Up With The
Following:
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–
–
–
–
–
–
–
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Wisconsin Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Coalition
Coulee Graziers
Chippewa Graziers
North Central Graziers
USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service
University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
Grass Works, Inc.
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
Marathon County Land Conservation Department
Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers
Great Lakes Grazing Network
River Country Grazing Initiative
Other RC&D’s have replicated the River Country Grazing
Initiative and have hired 6 Additional Grazing Specialists in
addition to the 4 NRCS Specialists In The State.
This Is A Welcome Step, BUT It Does Not
Meet The Demand For MIG Assistance.
The Council Continues To Support The Initiative By
Maintaining 2-3 staff that work on MIG technical assistance
and educational.
River Country Grazing Initiative
Why is Management
Intensive Grazing a
viable option in the River
Country RC&D Area?
River Country Grazing Initiative
General Benefits of Livestock on Grass:
• Lower cost of production
• Improved herd health
• Reduced labor
• Cleaner water and air
River Country Grazing Initiative
More General Benefits of Livestock on Grass:
• Wildlife habitat for diverse species
• Open space for recreation
• Sustainable land use to support rural
communities
• Healthier food for humans
River Country Grazing Initiative
Financial Benefits of Livestock on Grass:
1. Managed grazing is economically competitive, probably at all sizes.
2. Grazing farms are more economically flexible than confinement farms because of
two factors.
3. The graziers who are most financially successful are those who focus
on all three factors of profit:
4. A traditional small Wisconsin dairy farm with average or better management
has a good chance of improving its financial performance by judicious adoption
of a managed grazing system.
And
River Country Grazing Initiative
5. Low input is not the same as low cost per unit of output.
6. Managed grazing can be employed with or without other practices
and technologies such as seasonal calving, milking parlors,
Total Mixed Rations, and so on.
7. There is no single measurement that tells enough about a farm business to make
substantive comparisons or decisions without additional information from other
measures. Several measures are needed to accurately judge the financial
performance of any farm business.
Key Finding: Wisconsin graziers consistently showed a higher
Net Farm Income For Operations (NFIFO) per cow than
confinement farmers despite lower milk production per cow.
Figure 1. Per cow net farm income from operations (NFIFO) and
milk production on grazing and confinement farms in Wisconsin
• Table 2. Comparing financial performance of three farm types in
Wisconsin, 2002
•
•
•
•
•
Avg. lbs. of milk per cow
Avg. basic cost per CWT EQ $7.48
Avg. non-basic cost per CWT EQ
Avg. allocated cost per CWT EQ
Avg. NFIFO per farm
Avg. NFIFO per cow if all labor
•
and management were free
•
Avg. NFIFO per cow
•
Avg. NFIFO per CWT EQ
Avg. NFIFO per CWT EQ if all labor
•
and management were free
•
Multiple year data*
•
Simple avg. NFIFO per CWT EQ
•
Range in number of herds
•
Range in avg. number of cows/herd
Managed
Grazing
15,644
Traditional
confinement
19,490
$7.69
Large modern
confinement
22,403
$8.18
$2.39
$9.87
$49,108
$3.55
$11.24
$33,775
$3.50
$11.68
$164,599
$649
$524
$2.53
$561
$245
$0.91
$3.14
$2.12
$2.34
$3.96
19-31
50-71
$2.39
180-216
62-63
$1.50
34-57
443-471
$523
$131
$0.47
•
•
Source: An Eight-Year Economic Look at Wisconsin Dairy Systems, Tom Kriegl and Gary Frank, June 2004.
* The multi-year data is available starting in 1995 for grazing farms. Data for TC and LMC farms was not fully sorted into the
•
two size groups until 1996 and by labor compensation type until 1997.
What is the trend in Wisconsin?
Program on Agriculture and Technology Studies, UW
Madison
Percent of farms using MIRG by district, 2003
% of farms with mirg.shp
0 - 15
16 - 23
24 - 34
35 - 41
N
W
E
S
Program on Agriculture and Technology Studies, UW
Madison
Percent of cows in MIRG by district, 2003
Percent of cows in mirg.shp
1% - 8%
9% - 15%
16% - 22%
23%- 31%
N
W
E
S
River Country Grazing Initiative
For more information please call:
Mary C. Anderson
River Country Resource and Development Council
1304 N. Hillcrest Pkwy, Suite B
Altoona Wisconsin 54720
Home office: 715-834-9672
Mary’s office: 715-538-4396 ext. 33
Or visit
WWW.rivercountryrcd.org
Hey Look
Everybody, The
Grazing Specialist
Is Here!!!