Project
High-tech for more biodiversity
The 'high-tech for more biodiversity' project is developing an innovative strategy to meet the social desire for more biodiversity, but without increasing the cost price. The use of high-tech entails is pricey, but this is offset by cost savings on fertilizer concentrates and extra crop yields. The ambition is not to have a cost increase per liter of milk on balance.
The aim of the project is to arrive at a design of an innovative high-tech nature including business system that fits in well with the environment. The farm system frees up 25% of the total farm area for biodiversity with a constant cost price for the milk produced. In the first instance, this concerns areas for botanical management as well as meadow bird management.
Plan of action
The project has 3 phases. Phase 1 consists of developing an Opportunity Map for biodiversity and high-tech. The aim of this phase is to determine the 0 situation with regard to soil, yields and biodiversity of the plots of Dairy Campus (Nieuw Stroomland) in order to draw up an opportunity map for biodiversity & high-tech on the basis of this. In addition, land users and experts are given the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and ideas in a workshop. The results of phase 1 serve as the basis for an innovative design for more visible biodiversity and an action plan to apply the design (parts of) the design on the Dairy Campus (Phase 2).
With the aim of increasing the surface area of biodiversity & meadow birds to 10% -25% of the total business area. The implementation and monitoring of the plan of approach is phase 3a with the aim of providing a proof of principle for the approach of 'High-tech for more biodiversity'.
In phase 3b, the intention is to develop Dairy Campus - in close cooperation with the Living Lab Nature-inclusive Agriculture and surrounding land users in Nieuw Stroomland - into the Living Lab High-tech & Biodiversity. It is the place in the Netherlands where dairy farmers, farm entrants, conservationists, policy makers, politicians and citizens go to experience how high-tech can contribute to more biodiversity.