Farm debt
In general, farm debt (total farm debt/total farm assets) is less than 40 percent. In 1996, 44 percent had
farm debt less than 10 percent (low) and 36 percent had farm debt between 10 and 40 percent
(moderate). Only 5 percent of farmers reported having very high debt (greater than 70 percent).
Confinement farmers represent the largest proportion of the moderate to high debt level (24 percent) and
the smallest portion of the low debt category (36 percent). Both Moderate Grazer and Intensive Grazer
farmers generally reported lower total farm debt. Intensive Grazer farms have the smallest proportion of
very high debt (1 percent). This response belies the common speculation that farmers adopt
management-intensive grazing because they have high debts and problems obtaining commercial credit.
Off-farm income
Slightly less than half (44 percent) of the respondents reported no off-farm income in 1996. Twenty-
nine percent reported off-farm income of more than $12,000 per year. Intensive Grazer farmers reported
the largest percentage (36 percent) of off-farm income in the greater than $12,000 category.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAZING-ONLY FARMS
Respondents who grazed cows in 1996 were asked to provide additional management information.
Frequency of rotating cows to fresh pasture is a major indicator of pasture utilization intensity by grass-
based dairies. Grazing on Virginia’s dairy farms is a very diverse practice: from daily rotation to use of
pasture as a loafing lot. Almost half (45 percent) the farmers using pasture grazed their cows in one field
all season (Table 8). The most intense pasture rotation (1 day or less) was practiced on 14 percent of
grazing farms. The remaining 40 percent of farms are equally distributed among the other rotation
frequencies.
Table 8: Frequency of rotating cows to fresh pasture.
%
|
1 day or less |
14 |
|
2-3 days |
7 |
|
4-7 days |
10 |
|
8-14 days |
8 |
|
15-30 days |
8 |
|
More than 30 days |
8 |
|
Graze milking cows in the same field all season |
45 |
Daily Forage Requirements Provided by Pasture
Respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of daily forage requirements provided by pastures
during the 1996 grazing season. The majority of farmers reporting grazing cows stated that their cows
received less than 25 percent of daily forage needs, and only 15 percent reported exceeding 75 percent of
daily needs (Table 9). More than one-half the Intensive Grazer farmers reported meeting the majority of
cows daily forage needs with pasture. However, even with the higher pasture rotation rate of Intensive
Grazer farmers, 23 percent reported meeting 25 percent or less of the milking herd’s daily forage needs.