Project Amazing Grazing

Project

Amazing Grazing 2.0

Grazing is an essential element of future-focused dairy farms. In the Amazing Grazing project, we are investigating and substantiating solutions the integration of grazing. We translate this into knowledge, management tools and concrete grazing systems for use in practice. Amazing Grazing thus encourages the application and development of grazing in the Netherlands as part of modern professional practice, both now and in the future.

Amazing Grazing: grazing is amazing

Grazing is a specialisation in its own right. Amazing Grazing focuses on the ‘what and how’ of grazing. The basic elements in this are 1) new expertise on grass and grassland management, 2) new technologies relating to grazing and grass and 3) modern grazing practice on the part of the farmer. The focus lies on seeking and substantiating solutions, for instance for large herds and small farm plots. There is still a lot to be discovered in the field of grazing, and many innovations are still possible. Grazing is amazing, and this motto forms the starting point for the project.

Amazing Grazing: working on knowledge building blocks

Amazing Grazing

In the first phase of Amazing Grazing, we will be investigating possible solutions that will then be tested and substantiated in field trials. The field trials will take place at Dairy Campus, KTC Zegveld and Applied Plant Research Vredepeel. We will then translate the results of the field trials into six knowledge building blocks relating to grazing, and will examine these in relation to each other.

Amazing Grazing: working on tools and knowledge for use in practice

On the basis of the six knowledge building blocks, the second phase of Amazing Grazing involves the development and testing of management tools, knowledge and grazing systems for use in practice. This relates to a tool for grassland planning, a dashboard for the daily reading off of the grass intake or the optimised form of rotation grazing, for example. This development will take place in cooperation with our partners, and testing will take the form of practical trials. The partners will then be able to implement the tools and knowledge in their everyday practice; Amazing Grazing will support this process.

Amazing Grazing: the best possible expertise

Scientific substantiation is the central focus in the first phase of Amazing Grazing. To this end, we call upon experts from the Netherlands and further afield. Our sparring partners include market parties, the dairy sector and dairy farmers. The objective of Amazing Grazing is the development of the best possible knowledge on grazing, and making this knowledge useable in practice.

Amazing Grazing: in association with ..

The client is the Sustainable Dairy Chain (Duurzame Zuivelketen, a joint initiative of van LTO Nederland and the Dutch Dairy Association [NZO]), and funding was provided by ZuivelNL and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The project is to be implemented in cooperation with the University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân, PPS Precisielandbouw 2.0, PPS Ruwvoerproductie en Bodemmanagement, Feed4Foodure and Systeeminnovatie Veenweiden Beweiden. The implementers are active at Wageningen UR Livestock Research, the Louis Bolk Institute, Dairy Campus, KTC Zegveld and Wageningen University (chair group Animal Production Systems). The project leader is Bert Philipsen at Wageningen UR.

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