In 2018, the University of Vermont received an USDA OREI Grant to Advance Grass-Fed Dairy: A Whole Systems Approach to Enhancing Productivity, Quality, and Farm Viability in the U.S (OREI 2018-51300-28515).

One primary objective was to understand the economic and production metrics for grass-fed dairy systems through implementation of a national survey, production and economic benchmarking on farms in VT and NY. This session will describe the characteristics and demographics of grass-fed dairy farms from our national survey, including herd sizes, acreage, and management systems. We’ll then take a deeper look at some of the data from our smaller northeast region surveys which include the grass-fed cost of production (cost per cwt) and more detail on farm management and production.