Klimaatbestendigheid en adaptatiemaatregelen op melkveebedrijven in de Achterhoek : resultaten van een enquête-onderzoek onder melkveehouders van Vereniging Vruchtbare Kringloop Oost

Samenvatting

In recent years Dutch dairy farms faced changes in weather conditions with longer periods of drought and heatwaves. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the effects of extreme weather events on dairy farms in the region ‘de Achterhoek’ in the Netherlands and to identify promising adaptation options. To this end, a questionnaire was implemented on 165 dairy farms and existing farm data were collected from these farms for the period 2016-2021. Results showed that crop yields and feeding values were significantly lower in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020. Environmental performance decreased in this period, and the number of farmers irrigating grass and maize fields increased. Respondents reported other effects of drought and heatwaves, such as reduced roughage stocks, increased labor, and heat stress of cows. Respondents already implemented many adaptation measures on their farms, and considered various other measures to be promising adaptation options.