Better-Calf

Context

Small scale farming plays a key role in employment and land use in rural areas of North-West Europe (NWE) and yet faces several challenges: economic (low farm incomes, market volatility, etc.), environmental (biodiversity decline, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate stresses, etc.), and societal (e.g. perceptions of animal welfare). Consequently, in some of these regions, up to 50% of farmers do not have successors when they retire. This is particularly the case for small and medium sized livestock farms with many of these farms subsequently integrated into larger-scale farm systems. 

Objective

There is an opportunity for livestock farmers to use dairy calves (i.e. calves born from dairy cows) and to add value to these calves by growing them to mature live weights. This opportunity is greatly enhanced if these calves are reared at pasture in ‘grass-based systems’ – such systems are considered desirable as they reduce competition between human food and animal feed, increase soil carbon storage, improve water quality and create local and high-quality food. The objective of this project is to support the resilience of rural territories in NWE and the livelihoods of family farms by developing grass-based dairy calf systems. Such dairy calf systems are at different stages of development throughout NWE, and so transnational cooperation will help adapt production to territorial specificities.

Approach

The project is built on farmer-groups and experimental farms to co-design enhanced grass-based dairy-calf systems. In addition, multi-actor groups including farmers, advisers, co-operatives and public bodies will define territorial plans for resilient and sustainable dairy calf supply chains. The transnational approach permits the involvement of a large number of partners according to their expertise. The diversity of these partners, and their knowledge of the soil and climatic conditions which prevail in NWE, will ensure a wide and coordinated response.