Free Range Dairy Network 2017 Grazing Season

Table to show the number of days and nights cows were grazed on farms supplying free range milk, under the Pasture Promise logo, in 2017.

Member No. Out to grass by day only Out to grass day & night Housed at night only Housed night & day Number of days grazed Number of nights grazed Grazing derogation days / nights
1016000 25/03/17 30/03/17 27/11/17 02/12/17 252 242 0/0
1016001 27/03/17 11/04/17 13/11/17 13/11/17 231 216 0/0
1016003 18/03/17 03/04/17 27/10/17 22/11/17 249 205 0/2
1016004 16/03/17 19/03/17 11/11/17 13/11/17 242 237 0/0
1016008 15/03/17 02/04/17 02/10/17 19/11/17 249 183 0/0
1016025 08/04/17 13/04/17 05/10/17 14/10/17 189 175 0/1
1016026 03/04/17 07/04/17 29/09/17 19/10/17 199 175 0/0
1016027 09/04/17 19/04/17 27/09/17 23/10/17 196 157 1/4
1016029 14/04/17 14/04/17 13/10/17 15/10/17 184 179 0/3
1017002 03/04/17 06/04/17 21/09/17 30/09/17 180 168 0/0
1017012 28/03/17 28/03/17 20/11/17 20/11/17 237 237 0/0
1017014 14/03/17 14/03/17 15/11/17 21/11/17 252 244 0/2
1017027 17/04/17 17/04/17 15/10/17 20/10/17 186 179 0/0
1017029 29/03/17 07/04/17 18/11/17 18/11/17 234 225 0/0
1017034 04/04/17 07/04/17 21/10/17 21/10/17 200 197 0/0
1017035 18/03/17 28/03/17 26/10/17 20/11/17 247 212 0/0
1017037 18/04/17 18/04/17 15/11/17 15/11/17 211 211 0/0
1017038 20/04/17 20/04/17 20/11/17 20/11/17 214 214 0/0
1017039 21/04/17 21/04/17 21/11/17 21/11/17 214 214 0/0

The above table shows that whilst the minimum number of days farmers are required to graze their cows for the production of Pasture Promise free range milk is 180, most grazed for well over 200 days in 2017. The table also shows the number of nights cows were grazed.

All animals over the age of 12 months must be grazed for a minimum of 180 days a year. Farmers are not permitted to keep any milking cows indoors during the grazing season, other than in exceptional circumstances. For example, the care and treatment of sick animals or cows close to calving.

Farmers are only permitted to bring cows indoors for up to one hour before milking starts and one hour after milking finishes each day (all herds are milked twice a day). However, farmers may apply for a derogation to temporarily house cows during the grazing season if extreme weather threatens to compromise health and welfare of the animals. You will see in the table above that five producers temporarily housed cows during the 2017 grazing season. In each case this was as a result of persistent, heavy rain making fields waterlogged.

Farms in the table are located in Sussex, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire. Whilst the grass growing season is typically shorter in the north of England, other factors such as soil type and regional weather patterns determine how many days farmers are able to graze their cows each year.