Inno4Grass – Encyclopedia pratensis

Shared innovation space for sustainable productivity of grasslands in Europe

Presentation

Europe’s Most Innovative Grassland Farmers

Europe’s most innovative grassland farmers are set to receive international awards for their innovation and commitment to excellence in grassland. This initiative is part of the three-year Inno4Grass Thematic Network project, a €2 million project funded by Horizon 2020. The farmers receiving awards represent eight member states in Europe and are all excelling in grassland and grassland management despite differences in climate, systems and soil types. Each member state has recognised a farmer excelling in grassland through different competitions which took place in the member states.

The eight countries being celebrated at the Inno4Grass award ceremony are Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, in which grasslands have a considerable share in the agricultural area and where production of dairy, beef and sheep from grassland is of major economic importance.

It is important for all partners to participate in this event for the promotion of good practices in European livestock breeding. Project coordinator Arno Krause, general manager of the Centre for Grassland in Germany, remarked: “I’m looking forward to presenting innovative grassland farmers around Europe with awards for their fantastic achievements in grassland. We call these farmers ‘lighthouse farmers’, they are shining lights in their countries, providing other farmers with guidance, ideas and knowledge in grassland, so it is important that we recognise their contribution to society in the award ceremony. This is one of the major achievements of the Inno4Grass project.”

The Inno4Grass programme strives to bridge the gap between practice and science communities to ensure the implementation of innovative systems on productive grasslands. The long-term goal of the project is to increase profitability of European grassland farms and to preserve environmental values across Europe.

Public delivrables

Partners

GLZ, Germany, (Grünlandzentrum Niedersachsen/Bremen e.V., Centre for grassland)

Teagasc, Ireland, (The Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Oak Park, Carlow (Teagasc))

Wageningen Livestock Research (WR), The Netherlands

RHEA, Belgium, (Research Centre for a Sustainable Rural Development and Ecosystem Management)

IDELE, France, (Institut De L’Elevage (French Livestock Institute))

APCA, France, (Assemblée Permanente des Chambres d’Agriculture (ie. Permanent Assembly of Chambers of Agriculture))

LWK, Germany, (Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen (Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony))

UGOE, Germany, (Georg August Universität Göttingen, Stiftung Öffentlichen Rechts (Department of Crop Sciences/Grassland Science))

INRAE, France (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment)

TRAME, Belgium, (Tr@me Scrl (Walloon Rural Development Network))

AWE, Belgium, (Association Wallonne de l’Elevage (awé asbl))

AERES University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

SLU, Sweden, (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU))

LTO, The Netherlands, (Land- en Tuinbouw Organisatie – Dutch Farmers Association)

CNR, Italy, (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Institute for Animal Production System in Mediterranean Environment ISPAAM))

PULS, Poland, (Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu – Poznan University of Life Sciences)

WIR, Poland, (Wielkopolska Izba Rolnicza – Wielkopolska Chamber of Agriculture)

SV, Sweden, (Svenska Vallföreningen)

AIA, Italy, (Italian Breeders Association)

LRC, Italy (Laimburg Research Centre)