NORWICH – Could rotational grazing be the answer to the economic woes of local dairy farmers? Proponents of the agricultural practice, which involves rotating livestock between paddocks every 12 to 24 hours, think it can.

“Grazing has come to the top again in terms of a priority,” said Phil Metzger. The local USDA Resource Conservation and Development coordinator was among a group of local agriculture advocates and industry experts who attended a recent Chenango River Watershed meeting where rotational grazing was the topic of the day.

Presenting at the event was Dr. Jon Winsten, an agricultural economist with Winrock International. Winsten is engaged in a multi-year research project in conjunction with the University of Vermont. The project, which is funded by grant from the USDA, is focused on studying the potential effects pasture-based, management-intensive rotational grazing on agriculture in the Northeast.

While rotational grazing is currently considered a “fringe production system” in the United States, Winsten said, its implementation could have a significant economic impact on rural communities as well as increase farm viability and have long-term environmental impacts.