Abstract
In many intensive dairy regions in northwest Europe, a decline in grazing is observed. In the Netherlands, the proportion of dairy cows with access to pasture is declining, as well as the time spent grazing per cow. The decline in grazing is seen as an unwanted trend by many stakeholders and is, thus, under debate amongst dairy farmers, the dairy chain, and society. Therefore, a public–private partnership was initiated to encourage grazing by providing farmers with usable means of improving their grazing systems. The partnership involved stakeholders from the dairy farming community, dairy and feed industry, agrotechnical industries, advisory services, and research. The objective of this partnership was to develop and stimulate technological innovations and management measures that increase fresh grass intake at pasture. The innovation network combined an integrated research approach with farmer working groups and broader stakeholder interactive meetings. The project started with a comprehensive grass intake framework, which was the foundation for exploration of innovations. The framework consisted of six interlinked components: soil, grass growth, grass supply, grass intake, feed supplementation, and cow behavior. In a continuous interactive cycle, strategic choices were made to focus on potentially effective innovations. The use of a public–private partnership to develop usable innovations that encourage grazing practices proven to be a good approach to develop a shared vision among stakeholders. It provided a basis to work together toward innovative practices and to disseminate the outcomes to the foreseen users. The approach succeeded in design concepts for two specific innovations, i.e., weekly grass growth predictions and daily fresh grass intake tracking. We demonstrated that meaningful grazing and fresh grass intake are possible in intensive dairy systems with high stocking rates and high levels of supplementary feeding.
Highlights
Expert estimates from the European Grassland Federation (EGF) grazing working group generally show a downward trend of the proportion of cows with access to pasture [2,3]
The reviewed public–private partnerships were less capable of stimulating the final market development and consumer demand, because competition between stakeholders becomes more of an issue
We demonstrated that meaningful grazing and fresh grass intake, around 6 to 7 kg dry matter (DM)·cow−1·day−1, is possible in intensive dairy systems with high stocking rates and high levels of supplementary feeding
Summary
Dairy production from grazed pastures is a familiar farming practice in Europe. A study in seven regions in northwestern Europe [1] showed that, in 2012, pasture access of dairy cows varied from nearly year-round almost unrestricted grazing, as seen all around Ireland, to year-round housing and no pasture access at all, which is the dominant system in Denmark. Trend data about the proportion of grazing in Europe are sparse. Downward grazing trends are projected between 2012 and 2025 for five out of seven regions in northwestern Europe [1]. Expert estimates from the European Grassland Federation (EGF) grazing working group generally show a downward trend of the proportion of cows with access to pasture [2,3]. In Flanders, within the 20% most productive dairy farms, the intake of fresh grass was reduced from 7.0 to 3.6 kg dry matter (DM)·cow−1·day−1 between 2003/2004 and 2013/2014 [6]
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