Dairy Resource Management: A Comparison of Conventional and Pasture-Based Systems

Facing rapid and significant change in the sector, U.S. dairy production trends from 1993-2005 were tracked and performance measures (scale and technical efficiency and returns on assets) were estimated for conventional and pasture-based dairy farms using data from USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Comparisons of relative economic performance of dairy farms by size and type are made.