Grazing system

Grazing system

Focus on production efficiency and low cost

  • High output per kg of body weight
  • Good resilience and capacity
  • Excellent fertility

Grazing cows

In this system, your dairy cows produce milk based upon a ration of almost exclusively grass and forage. As the cows are predominantly kept and grazed outside they are fed supplements to a minimum.

Production efficiency and the lowest cost of production are your main focus. You aim for a maximum output, whether it is milk volume or solids, per hectare of grassland and an optimum production per cow. As a consequence cows are not always fully fed.

CRV is dedicated to support you in breeding and managing better cows. The CRV farming system navigator with its 5 step approach supports you in making a breeding plan that fits your specific farming system.

The ideal grazing cow

The ideal grazing cow:

  • has high output (solids or litres) per kg of body weight
  • is trouble free and robust
  • does not need personal care at calving
  • has a low body weight
  • Is able to walk long distances
  • easily takes in fast amounts of grass
  • calves at the same time every year


Your ideal grazing cow is bred using CRV Grazing genetics.

The ideal grazing cow

5 steps of the CRV farming system

The CRV farming-system navigator with its 5 step approach supports you in making a breeding plan that fits your specific farming system.

Step 1. Farming-system navigator

Your CRV consultant will assist you in following the navigator to define
your farming system.

Step 2. Breeding goal

Define your breeding goal and check the attention traits for breed and sire selection as indicated in the description of your farming system.

CRV defines 4 farming systems:

  1. Grazing
  2. Semi grazing
  3. Semi mixed ration
  4. Mixed ration

Step 3. Preferred breeds
All CRV breeds can be used for pure breeding as well as for cross breeding. Determine the breed(s) you want to use in your breeding plan.

Step 4. My breeding scheme (sketch)

Your CRV consultant advises you a breeding scheme that fits your personal breeding plan.

Step 5. Sire selection

Choose sires that fit your breeding strategy or use CRV’s advanced mating program SireMatch.

Start with the grazing system

Are you interested in the grazing system or would you like some more information? Find a distributor in your region or request more information via our contact form.

Also interesting for you:

CRV Holstein US

CRV has a competitive offer of elite sires that have been selected from the best cow families in the United States. Read more about our Holstein US programme.

Semi-grazing system

In the semi-grazing system, your cows produce milk upon a ration of mostly grass supplemented almost year around with silage and bought-in feeds.

Semi-mixed-ration system

In the semi-mixed-ration system, your cows produce high volumes of milk or solids upon a mostly mixed ration which at times includes grazed pasture.