InnoRind

Background and Objective

The project aims to improve animal welfare and thus social acceptance of cattle farming in Germany through practical trials with scientific support and comprehensive evaluation of innovative housing and management approaches. Knowledge transfer into practice rounds off the project.

Approach

Within the framework of the project, several innovation projects are planned to be implemented on a total of nine farms. They will be evaluated comprehensively by the cooperation partners (research institutes, chambers of agriculture, universities and colleges). All innovation projects pursue a comprehensive approach to improving husbandry conditions in the calf, beef cattle and dairy cow sectors, which both increase animal welfare and meet other societal demands. The innovation projects are assessed according to a total of eight cross-cutting themes: Animal Welfare, Environmental Impact, Feasibility of Implementation on the Test Farms, Economic Evaluation, Social Acceptance, Animal Hygiene and Antibiotics Reduction, Heat Stress and Barn Climate. The Thünen Institute of Farm Economics is carrying out the work package economic evaluation in cooperation with the above-mentioned project partners. For this purpose, the initial situation (baseline) is compared with the introduced innovations with regard to their performance, costs, revenues and profitability.

Preliminary Results

The results of the project are the implemented innovations on the experimental farms as well as their comprehensive evaluation from the point of view of animal welfare, environmental impact and social acceptance. In addition, knowledge transfer to farmers and consumers is planned by information provided through a website. It is also planned to transfer the results from InnoRind into practice and to present them at various conferences and fairs. The first results are expected in the second quarter of 2023.

Links and Downloads

Press Release of the Uni Kiel (in German)