0 300 600 900 1200 1500 GOAL: CO2 emissions< 980 kg regular cow’s milk 2021 2020 2019 2018 CO2 emissions at farmers banks form a habitat for all kinds of animals, which feed on snails and insects that live in and around the water. These small water creatures are also an important part of the food chain. Aquatic plants in turn produce oxygen, which helps break down pollutants. Cleaning the ditch itself requires attention. Hooidammer farmer Marten: “You take all the life out of the ditch with a dredge. No fish can survive that. By cleaning only about half of the ditch with a mowing basket, you create a natural balance in and around the water.” Field edge Field edges exist in many forms and can serve different purposes. Flower strips, for example, are good for increasing general biodiversity on and around the farm. In combination with trees and shrubs, a field edge acts as a natural link between nature areas for larger animals such as roe deer and hares. In addition, a field edge can play a role in improving water quality. Because the field edge forms a buffer between the field and adjacent surface water, there is less erosion and washing out of fertiliser. flower strips Both Hooidammer farmer Carla and farmer Jan-Klaas are very pleased with their sown flower strips. They also regularly see cyclists and tourists dismounting to take pictures. The fear that the strips would lead to a loss in yield appears to be unfounded. They both indicate that sowing a flower strip is not much of a job, but that maintaining it for several years is still quite a job. “So we are going to work on that because helping bees but also bumblebees and butterflies is of great importance. They provide pollination for about three-quarters of agricultural and horticultural crops and about 15% of wild plants.” innovative improvement One of our cow farmers has achieved this ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an innovative improvement. For a year now, he has been processing FIR through the cows’ feed, a substance that is suitable for both conventional cattle farms and organic and biodynamic cattle farms. Besides an emission reduction of ammonia and methane, among others, the intestinal digestion is also better and the manure is more soil-friendly! 22
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