Grassland use in Europe

A syllabus for young farmers

by Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar (editorial coordination), Leanne Bastiaansen-Aantjes (editorial coordination), Fergus Bogue (editorial coordination), Michael O’Donovan (editorial coordination), Christian Huyghe (editorial coordination)

Collection: Synthèses

december 2019

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Summary
Table of contents

Summary

DOI : 10.35690/978-2-7592-3146-1

Covering 40% of the European agricultural area, grasslands are vitally important both for agriculture and society. These grasslands serve multiple functions, including the local provision of fodder for animal husbandry (and hence high-quality food provision for people), biodiversity conservation, carbon storage and the provision of ‘traditional’ landscapes that European citizens appreciate for recreational purposes and cultural heritage.
The future of grassland farming in Europe is in the hands of young farmers. Compared to other topics, grassland management has often been a weak point of teaching delivered by agricultural technical schools in several European countries. The training of future farmers and advisors could thus be significantly improved, which could lead to better grassland management in the medium and long terms. For this reason, the European project Inno4Grass created a syllabus and a set of PowerPoint presentations on practical grassland management for current and future generations of grassland farmers and advisors.

Preface
Objectives of Inno4Grass
Diversity of European grasslands
Main grassland types
Economic and social importance of European grasslands
Environmental importance
Threats

Chapter 1. Grassland production
Characteristics of grass
Use of grasslands
Grassland species and sward assessment
Weed management

Chapter 2. Grazing management
Grass supply
Main parasitic diseases encountered on the pasture
Main grazing parameters
Management according to the season
Farm infrastructure

Chapter 3. Hay and silage making
Cutting management and haymaking
Silage
Techniques adapted to legume and legume mixtures

Chapter 4. Soil and nutrient management
Soil characteristics related to grasslands
Main macro-nutrients: N P K
Biological nitrogen fixation
Liming
Use of animal manure
Other macro- and micronutrients

Chapter 5. Environment and biodiversity
Carbon sequestration
Greenhouse gas emissions
Water quality
Biodiversity

Chapter 6. Quality of grassland-based animal products
Milk and dairy product quality
Effect of grazed grass on milk composition
Effect of the grass conservation type on milk composition

References
Characteristics of individual countries
Sweden
Ireland
The Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Poland
France
Italy