The Hanken farm is a grass-based dairy farm with 220 dairy cows and young stock located in northern Germany. Dirk manages 160 ha permanent grassland on peat soil. In 2023, he installed two solar panels from the company Sun Farming as agrivoltaics on his pasture. The agrivoltaics are part of a scientific study about the interaction of the solar panels with animals and grazing management. The solar panels offer an added value to the farmers income and the animal welfare. Solar panels are usually installed on extensively managed grassland and have an impact on the sward composition. In the first year of the experiment, only the behaviour of the animals has been recorded so far.  

The farmer could not imagine installing a large-scale solar park on his farmland. He would prefer to install single panels in each paddock, as those can also be used as a shelter from heat and rainfall. 

Animals’ behaviour: 

• The cows do not pay attention to the panels.
• The module was only used as a shelter and weather protection when it was very hot and sunny.
• On rainy days it was sometimes used as shelter.  

Management under the panel: 

• The sward density and quality under the panel has not changed significantly.
• No mowing under the panel was needed.
• No fertilisers were needed. 

Installation tips for solar panels on peat soil: 

• When installing the panels, it is important to ensure distances to ditches and drainages to be able to mow, mulch or clean.
• The panel construction is anchored for 1.40 meters in the ground.  

Herdade da Carneira is located on the northern slopes of the Serra d'Ossa, near Rio de Moinhos, in the interior South of Portugal. The property covers 180 hectares, divided in 50 hectares of eucalyptus groves, 25 hectares of arable land and 90 hectares of cork oak forest. In addition, 7 hectares of super high-density olive grove of the lecciana variety are being planted. 

This farm has a great advantage due to the fact that it has two relatively large water basins, which offer an excellent water supply to the property, serving as a reinforcement for the irrigation of fodder and the super high-density olive grove. 

In recent years, there has been a greater focus on implementing practices that are beneficial for the Montado and for climate change mitigation. Those that stand out within the scope of the project are the reduction in the density of cork oaks and their phytosanitary assessment, with a careful selection of trees taking into account their diseases and health conditions, and the improvement of meadows with a mixture of clover and grasses through direct sowing to improve the soil and the health of the Montado mixed farming system.  

In Ireland, it is necessary to reduce the use of chemical fertiliser without compromising the herbage production, leading to economic and environmental benefits for the farm. Danny Cremin has reduced his reliance on chemical fertiliser by incorporating clover on his paddocks and maximising the use of slurry on the farm. 

White clover is one of the most commonly used legumes for grazing. It is capable of fixing up to 100 kg N/ha of atmospheric nitrogen (N) into the soil and provides the sward with a source of N. To ensure a good establishment and persistence, Danny chooses the paddocks where soil fertility is optimum (pH > 6.3, P & K index 3 or 4). After a reseed or oversow of clover, Danny grazes paddocks at a lower cover to enable light to get through to the base of the sward. 

Slurry is a very valuable source of organic N with on average 9 units of N, 5 units of P (Phosphorus) and 32 units of K (Potassium) per 1,000 gallons of cattle slurry. Danny has tested his own slurry to know its composition and takes regular soil samples of the farm. He spreads the slurry using LESS (Low Emission Slurry Spreading), which prevents the loss of nutrients in the environment and improves the nutrient uptake.  

In 2023, Danny spread slurry to the value of 41 kg N/ha on his milking platform. Through soil sampling, Danny was able to recognise the areas of the farm that had low P & K soil indexes and targeted them with slurry to maximise the utilisation. Danny was able to reduce his chemical fertiliser use to 150 kg N/ha in 2023 from 193 kg N/ha in 2020 while still producing 13.4 tonne DM/ha in 2023. He experienced economic benefits as less fertiliser was bought. Danny saved approximately €125/ha on nitrogen fertiliser. 

If farmers want to take on this innovation, Danny stresses on the importance of having good soil fertility for the clover. Moreover, talking with grassland advisors before introducing clover on farm is a necessity for Danny, as they

When you graze cows in a peat meadow area, you face several challenges. This also applies to dairy farmer Jan Vonk from Goudriaan (115 dairy cows, 61 hectares, milking parlor). 

Peatland areas are characterized by very narrow, long parcels surrounded by ditches. The parcels of Vonk consist of clay and peat. The parcels have moderate drainage and low carrying capacity and are susceptible to trampling. They are suitable for grassland and grazing but less suitable to other agricultural use and heavy machinery.  

Grazing of cows in a peat meadow area requires appropriate management. By maximum grazing (more than 200 days a year, day and night), grasslands are optimally used. To provide the cows individually with concentrates, it is given in the milking parlor during milking. After the cows have been milked in the milking parlor, they walk about 1.5 kilometers along a narrow cow path of about 1 meter wide to one of the pastures (grazing system: New Dutch Grazing). The narrow path works well: cows naturally walk behind each other. When additional grass silage or hay is fed during the summer period, it is baled to prevent heating. 

Because of the narrow parcels with high susceptibility to compaction, the dairy farmer avoids heavy machinery as much as possible. For necessary work with machines, contractors are hired because they have special machines adapted to the narrow plots. 

Extensive grassland is characterized by minimal cultivation intensity, including fewer cuts per year, lower livestock density per area in pastures, and generally poor soil nutrient content, often resulting in nutrient levels matching or falling below those exported by forage use. At the Schornhof, the Lintner family decided to preserve their extensive grassland and integrate it into their forage production.   

The existing farm grassland areas comprise 24.1 ha, of which 11.4 ha are larch meadows, which consist of a combination of a meadow plant stand with a thin larch stand (agroforestry). Agroforestry describes the simultaneous use of surfaces, as well as in forestry use and agricultural production either in combination with livestock farming or by direct cultivation of crops arable or produce. Larch meadows are generally species-rich grassland. They have been managed by grazing instead of by mowing for more than 20 years on the Lintner farm.  

To minimise machinery inputs and reduce labour, suckler cow husbandry (Tyrolean Grey, Original Braunvieh x Limousin) was chosen. The larch meadows not only make a major contribution to biodiversity, but also increase forage security in an area prone to drought. The shade provided by the trees cools the soil and undergrowth, reduces wind and thus evapotranspiration.   

The combination of microclimate under the trees and open areas creates a diverse range of forage. Open areas provide early forage, while under the trees the forage grows more slowly and stays fresh for longer.  

Main recommendation:  

By minimising external inputs and maximising self-sufficiency, the farm strives for profit-oriented livestock farming.  

Franck Le Breton and Maud Cloarec have a herd of 47 dairy cows in an all-grass system (69 ha). The cows produce 190,000 litres of milk with spring block calving, are milked once a day  without any concentrates. 

Calving is grouped together from March 1st to mid-April, in order to adjust the highest needs of the cows to the period of full grass growth in the spring. The production level is 4,200 litres of milk per cow produced with maximum grazing. 

The milking parlour is thus closed for 2 months in January and February. Work is also greatly reduced in winter. To move towards a completely successful economical system and towards an optimization of working time, once a day milking all year round was also implemented a few years later. 

It took four years to group the calving period and close the milking parlour. At the time, calving used to take place all year round. To reach this grouped period, it has been necessary to gradually shift the calving of the cows and take some cows out of the herd. To succeed in spring block calvings, two key points must be mastered: reproduction and grass management. They pay great attention to insemination: cows in heat are observed and marked from the beginning of April, i.e. two cycles before the start of inseminations on May 25th. Heifers calve at 24 months. Cows and heifers are scanned in September. 

Spring is the most important and busiest period of the year, but summer is then calmer and easier for family life. 

Martin Ivarsson in Köinge in Southwest Sweden runs a farm with certified organic dairy production with 100 cows and 200 ha arable land. Martin’s goal is an optimised grazing management using as much grazing as possible. He is continuously improving the system. Concentrating the calving to the right time for maximum grazing is one of the improvements. Managing the pastures for maximum quality and fodder intake is another. 

The animals graze less when they return to a paddock that has been grazed before. The grass is less tasty and the animals eat less. Martin discovered this when he had cut one half of a paddock and let the other half being grazed. When the cows returned to the paddock, they only grazed the half that had been cut and not the half that had been grazed before. 

Martin wants two cuts between grazing. One part of the land is grazed in spring and the rest is harvested and grazed after that. Grazing and harvest are alternated so that each paddock is cut at least twice between grazing. The paddocks are grazed one week each. The paddocks that have been grazed are harvested as round bale silage. The hygienic quality has not been impaired from the grazing animals. As the paddocks are cut twice between grazing there are no ungrazed spots left in the sward and there’s a much better animal growth. 

During the summer, the farms in the submontane and mountain areas of Romania generate many human-bear conflicts. A bear attack on livestock can result in human, livestock or bear injury. Against the background of the existence of gaps in the legislative framework and the damage compensation system, people try to protect their assets. Also, grazing in the forest background and the use of non-competitive guard dogs is another cause of the large number of losses recorded among domestic livestock. 

Hort Augustin, a farmer from the village of Halmasau, Bistrița-Năsăud county, skilfully manages 15 hectares of land, used as pasture, where he passionately cares for 17 cows of the Romanian Baltata breed, for milk production. 

To improve the surveillance of animals on the pasture and optimize the management of the farm, Hort invested in the latest technology, purchasing drones. This innovation allows him to more effectively monitor the land and quickly identify any problem or potential threat for the animals.  

A drone can quickly fly over, detect threats and provide aerial images and real-time footage (the drone has a 4k video quality camera, it is an easy to fly quadcopter with 30 min. fly time in optimal). Depending on the weather, the cow's proximity to the farm and calving season, he flies it from 0 to 10 times per day. This allows the farmer to assess the level of danger and identify the appropriate response. This can help save time and money. Drones can monitor vast areas and provide high-quality images and video footage in real time, which could also mean that fewer on-site work force is needed to monitor the animals. Speed is another advantage. Drones are much faster than a human or a car, which allows the farmer to reach the location of the animals on the pasture several times quicker and give the opportunity to provide a rapid response. 

In an age where agriculture faces increasingly complex challenges, such a