ABSTRACTFarm‐scale trials with Ayrshire dairy cows were conducted in South‐West Scotland over two seasons to compare set‐stocking and paddock grazing at similar stocking rates and N fertilizer rates.At a stocking rate of 1±9–2±0 cows/ac throughout the grazing season and a fertilizer N rate of about 400 units/ac, milk production per head from set‐stocked cows was equal to that from paddock‐grazed cows. No health problems arose as a result of applying fertilizer to the fields which were set‐stocked.These trials hare established that set‐stocking is a viable system for the intensive management of dairy cows on grassland in the UK, but further work is necessary to determine whether paddock‐grazing has a higher potential for milk productio