Transitions in nutrient management on commercial pilot farms in the Netherlands

dairy farms in the netherlands are productive, but also have relatively high nutrient losses, which often exceed environmental targets set by the european union. There are, however, large differences between dairy farms in performance, suggesting scope for improvement for at least a significant fraction of dairy farms. The project ‘cows & opportunities’ was initiated by the farmers’ union and the government in 1998 to explore the options to meet strict environmental targets with the help of intensive coaching by researchers and extension specialists. a total of 17 commercial pilot dairy farms were invited to participate in this long- term project.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the transition on dairy farms with intensive coaching towards realizing environmental legislation...