2004 Michigan Dairy Grazing Farm Business Analysis Summary

This report summarizes the financial and production records of 10 dairy grazing farms from across Michigan. These 10 farms indicated that they grazed dairy cows at least three months of the year and that grazing provided more than 30 percent of the forage consumed during the year. To be included, the farms must have produced at least 50 percent of gross cash farm income from milk and dairy animal sales. The records came from Michigan State University's TelFarm project and the Farm Credit Service system in Michigan. The values were pooled into averages for reporting purposes. Farm records were checked for accuracy. While considerable variation in the data exists, average values are reported in the summary tables and discussion that follows.