Grass and Forage Autonomy Working Group

The farmer faced the following problems:

– Increasing costs of concentrated feeds

– Difficulty producing a forage that combines grasses and legumes

– Lack of technical knowledge concerning legumes (sowing, harvesting,…)

– Lack of forage production during dry years

– Lack of technical knowledge in relation to meadows, grass in general…

– Difficulty in finding a competent speaker in fodder autonomy

– Lack of technical knowledge in relation to meadows, grass in general …

– Search for competent speakers in fodder autonomy

– What are the best grass-legume combinations?

– How to secure your fodder stocks? What about dry years?

In 2010, a working group was set up and is managed by the Pays des Collines Nature Park, the Plaines de l’Escaut Nature Park and the Scarpe – Escaut Regional Nature Park (France). This working group is open to all farmers, whether or not already engaged in a process that tends towards the fodder autonomy of their farms. Today, the group is made up of 80 Belgian members. This working group is supported by the European Interreg Ecorurable project and the Walloon Region.

Each year, various outings, meetings and training sessions are organized in order to facilitate the exchange of experiences between farmers (constitution of a network), to restore economic value to grass (in addition to environmental and societal aspects), to promote personalized technical advice for breeders and discussions with professionals, etc. Breeders were trained and informed on various topics by specialists.

Partners:

– Pays des Collines Natural Park

– Plains of the Scheldt Nature Park

– Scarpe Regional Nature Park – Escaut (France)

Other organizations:

– SPW

– Better Forages

– Carah ASBL

– Agricultural unions (FUGEA, …)

– Biowallonia

– Haut de France Chamber of Agriculture

– GNIS

-…

First observation: more farmers who are members of our Working Group. In 2010, we had 20 member farmers. In 2020, we reach 80 members at the level of Belgian farmers.

More and more farmers are asking questions about fodder autonomy …

Many farmers have questions about forage production in dry years.

A summary of each outing, conference is produced and sent to all participants

The participating farmers (the most present) in the conferences are the most motivated and already active farmers in the field of fodder autonomy.

Difficulty extending the approach to new farmers.

Difficulty working with living things and with the climate

Difficulty for the breeder to make a change without personalized follow-up

-Difficulty to change the ideas of farmers

– We must not give up

– Organize conferences, outings during off-peak periods for farmers (apart from heavy work in the fields, …)

– Avoid big speeches and favor field trips

– Promote exchanges between peers

– For 3 years, we have noticed that the climate is increasingly drier, need to find means of producing fodder … To be continued …