Practice Abstract - Research and innovation

Profitable Climate Actions on Dairy Farms

Measures that benefit the environment and climate often improve farm economics by optimizing resource use and efficiency. Greppa Näringen conducted climate calculations using the Vera Klimatkollen tool on a dairy farm to assess the impact of different strategies on climate and economy.

The modeled farm has conventional production with:

  • 200 cows
  • 240 ha arable land (170 ha grassland/field pasture)
  • 50 ha natural pasture
  • Grassland, cereals, and whole-crop silage (oats/peas)
  • Bull calves and some grain/straw sold

Feed Ration (kg DM/day)

  • Ley & whole-crop silage: 10.5
  • Beet pulp (molasses dried): 3.6
  • Grain: 1.7
  • Concentrate/protein mix: 4.3
  • ExPro (rapeseed protein): 1.6

Key Figures:

  • Milk yield: 10,000 kg ECM
  • Young heifers: 130 kg
  • Old heifers: 65 kg
  • Bull calf sale age: 2 weeks
  • Calving age: 27 months
  • Recruitment rate: 35%
  • Calf mortality: 5%
  • Calving interval: 13.2 months
  • Milk delivered: 92%
  • Forage waste: 15%

Alternative Scenarios

  1. Option 2: Replaces soya/palm products with more self-produced feed, lowering the farm’s carbon footprint.
  2. Option 3: Focuses on better animal growth, health, and management, reducing recruitment rates, calving ages, and calf mortality.
  3. Option 4: Increases milk yield to 12,000 kg ECM per cow with improved management, using more silage but maintaining feed ratios.
  4. Option 5: Reduces feed wastage from 15% to 5%, decreasing HP pulp purchases. The freed land is used to grow rapeseed and field beans for sale.
  5. Options 6, 7, 8: Combine multiple strategies.

The greatest impacts come from higher milk yields, improved feed conversion, reduced feed waste, and better animal growth and health.

Source Project
Climate Farm Demo
Ongoing | 2022-2029
Main funding source
Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
Geographical location
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia
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