The majority of dairy herds in Australia spend around 18 hours per day on pasture.

For the majority of dairy herds in Australia, grazing pasture (of various types) forms the majority of their nutrition. These herds tend to be milked twice a day so, accounting for walking to the dairy, being milked and walking back to pasture, they would spend around 18 hours per day on pasture. In this scenario, they are only “inside” in a dairy shed (parlour) being milked for around 25 minutes per day. 

Contained housing for dairy cows is very common across the world, particularly in places where climatic extremes require some form of climate control (heating or cooling) to keep cows comfortable. Around 20% of Australia’s milk comes from cows that are housed in a contained system (e.g. a free stall shed). These cows spend the vast majority of their day inside the shed, under a roof and in a partially climate controlled environment. They are fed, loaf, (rest and ruminate) and get milked within a shedded structure.

Dairy Australia surveys farmers each year to assess how many herds are in what dairy production system.