Dairy farmers' attitudes towards grazing. Results from a preliminary survey in Germany

Abstract

The generally positive perception of grazed grassland combines aspects of landscape, aesthetic values, biodiversity and concern for animal welfare. Many consumers are in favor of grazing and there is a rising political interest to support farms, which let their cows graze. In order to understand the motivations and the constraints dairy farmers are facing, 46 German dairy farmers were interviewed. Besides questions concerning factors like farm size, milk yield or number of cows, the farmers were asked about their attitudes towards grazing. Farmers, who let their cows graze, generally judge grazing more positive than farmers from non-grazing-farms. On top of that, they denote their knowledge about grazing as good; farmers from non-grazing farms and from siesta-grazing farms describe their knowledge about grazing management as poor. Grazing farms usually have a greater proportion of grassland that is close to the farm.