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New Zealand farmers to tell grazing-dairy methodsMissouri New ways of turning grass pastures into milk will be featured at the Missouri Dairy Grazing Conference, July 6 to 8, at the University of Missouri Southwest Center, Mount Vernon. "The conference includes research results from the MU grazing dairy, plus practical advice from dairy-farmer panels," said Barry Steevens, MU Extension dairy specialist. The three-day meeting will include bus tours to pasture-based dairy farms operated by producers from Missouri and New Zealand, said Tony Rickard, conference coordinator and MU regional dairy specialist at Cassville, Mo. "We have Missouri farmers who toured New Zealand dairy farms and New Zealanders who have moved to Missouri because of the pasture potential." Joe Horner, dairy economist with the MU Commercial Agriculture program, will open the conference after lunch, July 6, with a talk on "Trends in Today's Dairy Industry." He will be followed by Charles Fletcher, who has pasture-based dairies at Purdy and Lockwood, Mo. He will discuss why pasture-based dairying developed in Missouri. A seasonal grazing dairy has been in operation for eight years at the MU Southwest Center, on State Route H three miles southwest of Mount Vernon. On the second day participants will tour Missouri grazing dairy farms in the region near the Southwest Center. Optional tours begin after the conference closes Saturday afternoon. The final tours will go to a 300-cow grazing dairy owned by Bernie VanDalfsen at Reeds, Mo. Also available will be a tour of the 2,200-cow Focal Dairy at Harwood, Mo. The grazing dairy is owned by a New Zealand partnership and managed by Kevin and Cherie Van der Poel, Nevada, Mo. Missouri grazing dairies are heavily influenced by New Zealand dairy practices, Steevens said. Many Missourians have learned management-intensive-grazing (MiG) techniques, which involve using electric fences to divide large pastures into smaller grazing paddocks. On pasture-based dairy farms, milking herds are moved to fresh grazing paddocks twice a day, after each milking. The frequent moves increase efficiency of harvesting grass by cows. Grazing rotation allows each paddock to recover for up to one month, before the herd returns again to high-quality forage. Increased use of forages, both grass and legumes, decreases feed costs and improves production from farmland. Herd health also improves. New Zealand-style dairy farms use low-cost milking parlors that allow fast turnaround and reduced milking times. The seasonal dairies dry off the milking herd when the grazing season ends, about mid-December, and restart milking when the cows have calves near the end of February. With seasonal dairying, farmers can take a break from twice-a-day milking chores, take vacations and have family time. The conference will feature additional discussions by farmers and MU specialists on techniques of grazing, feeding, breeding and maintaining a dairy herd. Special sessions and tours will describe the New Zealand-style milk barns. Forage management discussions will be led by Rob Kallenbach, MU forage specialist. After dinner each evening, Missourians who have toured New Zealand will show slides of their trips. Early registration is encouraged, Rickard said. Conference meeting space at the MU Southwest Center is limited. Registration fee is $75 for the first person and $50 for each additional person from the same farm. Fees include two dinners and a lunch, plus educational materials. Make checks payable to the "University of Missouri." After June 22, registrations include a $25 late fee. Send checks to Grazing Conference, MU Extension, 700 Main St., Suite 4, Cassville, MO 65625. Information can be obtained at 417-847-3161 or at http://agebb.missouri.edu/dairy/grazing/conference.htm. Date: 5/25/06
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