Project | Cows & Opportunities

Dutch dairy farming faces major challenges: reducing nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing nitrogen and phosphate into ground and surface water, and strengthening biodiversity. At the same time, there is a need for a workable approach that takes into account regional and business-specific differences.   

The Cows & Opportunities project, launched in 1999, provides a unique environment for this. Fourteen pioneering dairy farms and the De Marke agro-innovation centre in Hengelo (Gelderland) serve as a research lab. Participating dairy farmers are spread across the country and represent different intensities and soil types. One of the participants runs an organic farm, for example, while another engages in very intensive farming. The focus in the coming years will be on target management. Dairy farmers will start working in practice with concrete, regional and appropriate targets that have been jointly set. The participating farms continuously assess and monitor whether the targets are achievable.  

Practical examples   

We work towards concrete targets, such as reducing emissions by 35 percent compared to 2020, producing at least 65 percent of protein fed to animals on our own land and promoting more herb-rich grassland.

WUR's approach rests on four pillars:

• Incubator: development and testing of innovations such as RENURE, equilibrium fertilisation and target management. 
• Practice: intensive measurements and guidance on dairy farms. 
• Dialogue: strategic coordination with sector and government on policy application.   
• Communication: wide dissemination of knowledge through study groups, trade journals and digital platforms.   

A clear approach is being developed that will enable dairy farmers to meet the targets set, appropriate to their own region. To this end, government agencies receive reliable information and tools for policy, dairy farmers receive practical tips and advisors get concrete measures. 

Cows & Opportunities shows how sustainability in dairy farming can go hand in hand with a healthy farm income. The project will help dairy farmers achieve several environmental goals at the same time by 2030, such as reduced emissions and more circular agriculture. 

Working with target management gives farmers more scope for customisation and better insight into their own performance. Circularity on the farm then grows, and dairy farmers can transparently share their results with society, the market and government. They do this in the form of field trips, engaging in dialogues, and articles in national and regional magazines.    

Future prospects

Based on 25 years of experience and using target management as its compass, Cows & Opportunities remains the network in which dairy farming makes progress in sustainability. Or, as WUR research associate Koos Verloop sums it up: "There are 25-50% environmental gains up for grabs through better management on farms. Through intensive collaboration between practice and research, we can take many more steps together."   

The strength of Cows & Opportunities lies in the intensive collaboration between industry, government and research. As Gerjan Hilhorst, research associate at Agro-innovation centre De Marke, emphasises: ‘’Collaboration between farmers, researchers, advisors is crucial to exploit as many opportunities as possible within the sector."  

Cows & Opportunities is a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, ZuivelNL, LTO, NMV, DDB, NAJK, Agrifirm, ForFarmers, PPP Agro Advies, DLV, Countus, Takens Advies, 3D Agro Advies and Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta.