🔄 Grazing

Grazing is when a herd eats grass on a pasture by itself. On dairy farms where the weather allows, cows are let out to graze in the warm season. If there is little grass or it is poor, the cows are given extra feed.

There are different ways to graze. In continuous grazing, the animals stay on one area all the time. This is simple and cheap, but it also gives less. In rotational grazing, the pasture is divided into paddocks that are grazed in turn. While the herd is on one paddock, the grass grows back on the others. This way the pasture gives more feed and gets trampled less. There is also seasonal grazing: an area is used only for part of the year. An old form is transhumance, when herds move to high mountain meadows for the summer.

Grazing affects the milk. Milk from cows on pasture has more omega-3 fats, conjugated linoleic acid and beta-carotene. Butter made from it is yellower and softer. Irish researchers estimate that every 10% of grass in the diet cuts the cost of producing a litre of milk by about 2.5 cents. That is why on pasture-based farms, for example in Ireland and New Zealand, grazing is the basis of the business.