At 4 October 2017 the Forage Dealer Event ‘The Future of Grass’ was organized by Barenbrug Holland. 50 dealers from 21 European countries visited Nijmegen for inspiration on ‘The Future of Grass’. It was a positive and inspiring event!
During the morning programme, several speakers presented their vision on future developents in forage grass. John Thijssen, Member of the Board of Directors of the Barenbrug Group, explained Barenbrug’s long-term strategy based on developments in the forage grass sector and customer needs. Vice-Chairman of the Board of dairy company FrieslandCampina, Erwin Wunnekink, shared insights regarding developments in the European dairy market. He emphasized that grass and roughage were essential for dairy farming and key to high quality milk and animal welfare.
Barenbrug’s international product manager for forage, Christiaan Heijink, showed Barenbrug’s latest forage grass innovations based on regional (climate) needs, such as NutriFibre and Lucerne Yellow Jacket. The morning closed with a dynamic presentation by trendwatcher Richard van Hooijdonk, sharing his inspiring vision on how technology, such as drones and robots, would change the agricultural sector in the future. His main message? The future starts starts right now, so don’t be scared of new technological developments but embrace them!
After lunch the group was welcomed at the dairy farm of the Derix family in Groesbeek. This progressive dairy farm has a herd of 180 dairy cows, 102 heifers, owns 50 ha of land (grass and maize) and uses several innovative technological tools to increase farm management efficiency. The dealers had the opportunity to see how smart farming technologies were used in practice. They also joined a demonstration in which a drone was used to identify grass production and the soil conditions in the fields. The data collected by the drone were linked to management decisions taken by the farmer.
The Forage Dealer Event ended with a live cooking dinner. The dealers had time to discuss the insights of the day and talk to the European colleagues in an informal ambience. The responses to the programme of the day were positive; people were enthusiastic about the diversity of presentations and the practical farm visit. They went home with new inspiration on the future of grass.
We are looking forward to an exciting yellow future!
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