MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON VIRGINIA DAIRY FARMS

INTRODUCTION

Dairy producers in Virginia and nationwide are exploring intensive management of pasture resources as a
potentially inexpensive source of high quality forages for the production of milk. To understand some of
the characteristics of grazing-based dairy production versus confinement feeding dairy production, a
survey of Virginia dairy producers was conducted in 1997.¹

The objectives of this sturdy were to

• Document production characteristics of dairy farms;

• Investigate use of selected technologies;

• Investigate adoption rates of management intensive grazing;

• Determine future plans of dairy farmers; and

• Investigate satisfaction regarding financial, production, and quality-of-life issues.

The survey, containing 18 questions addressing these issues (Appendix A), was conducted using the
mailing list of all dairy producers with a Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(VDACS) Grade-A permit, as of January 1997 (Office of Dairy Services, VDACS). The initial mailing
list contained 1,065 farms (after eliminating duplicate names and 3 institutional producers). Following
the survey method prescribed by Dillman (1978), an initial mailing of a cover letter and the survey form
was sent to all permit holders. A follow-up postcard was mailed one week later, and a second letter with
a survey form was mailed two weeks after the postcard. Seven weeks after the initial mailing, a third and
final letter with a survey form was mailed. The final list of producers surveyed totaled 1,044 after
eliminating individuals with incorrect addresses (returned by the US Postal Service) and retired or
deceased individuals. A total of 704 completed and usable surveys yielded a response rate of 67 percent
(Table 1).

Table 1: Response rates from mailings.

FARM CHARACTERISTICS

Respondents reported milking 79,930 cows on 704 farms (Table 2). This response rate represents 63
percent of the 126,000 milk cows reported in 1996 by the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service
(VASS). Farms in the survey averaged 115 cows and ranged from 12 to 825 cows per farm. The mean
herd size is 27 cows larger than the 88 cows reported in the 1992 Census of Agriculture. The
disappearance of the smaller herds in intervening years may be responsible: 1,469 herds were reported in
1992 compared to 1,068 farms with Grade-A permits in 1996. Average milk production on respondents’
farms was approximately 18,212 pounds per cow in 1996 with a range from 6,825 to 28,635 pounds.

¹ The survey instrument was designed to provide results comparable to surveys conducted in Pennsylvania and
Vermont in early 1997. Funding for this study was provided in part by the Virginia Water Resources Research
Center, Virginia Tech.

<<   <   1   2   3   4   5   6   >   >>