Grazing Adoption in Dairy Farming: A Multivariate Sample-Selection Approach

Milk production methods and pasture usage have gained increasing attention in recent years. This paper studies possible influences on the decision to adopt grazing practices as well as on the extent of these practices. German dairy farms were analyzed using a multivariate sample-selection model. Results indicate that specialized farms and farms with greater pasture acreage per cow are more likely to adopt grazing practices; farms with larger herds are less likely to adopt. For farmers utilizing grazing, length of daily pasture access depends on production-related variables, while the annual period depends only on farm specialization.