Since January 2021, 120 dairy farmers and 18 organisations from 15 different European Union countries have been cooperating under the impetus of the Institut de l’Elevage (IDELE) to contribute to the development of more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable livestock farming.
During study trips, these breeders had the opportunity to exchange ideas and discover the particularities of dairy farming in the different countries they visited. This included automation in Slovenia, very large farms in Hungary (up to 2,000 dairy cows), and the cooperative dairy system in Spain (up to 18 cooperators on a single farm).
International workshops were held on the trips to discuss different aspects of resilience and improvement.
An online questionnaire was used to draw up a list of needs specific to each country’s dairy sector. The project’s partner breeders then worked together to select the most relevant innovations, with the help of a group of European experts. In the end, around a hundred technical data sheets were produced for these innovations, accompanied by illustrative videos.
The project also provided a series of webinars on topical issues relating to the dairy sector, as well as training modules in lean management, which aims to streamline production processes.
