On the sandy soils in this part of The Netherlands permanent grassland seems the best measure to increase the organic matter content of the soil, to reduce the leaching of minerals and to reduce loss of soil moisture.
Customary maintenance of grassland fields is to plough and reseed or rotate the grass every 5 years. 5 years is the minimum length of time required by legislation. For growth and field rotation purposes, many farmers have preference to rotate fields in intervals less than 5 years. Under this technology, farmers instead wait 6 or 7 years before ploughing.
Purpose of the Technology: Ploughing grasslands increases the breakdown and decomposition of organic matter in soils. Farmers post-pone ploughing to increase soil organic matter content and reduce losses.
Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: A well established permanent grassland requires good drainage, frequent liming (possibly from residual products from water purification), deep rooting grass, reseeding after 10-15 years, and fertilisation using sufficient organic manure.
Natural / human environment: Dairy farmers on sandy soils in the eastern part of The Netherlands. In the pilot Gezond Zand 44 farmers participated, owning 720 ha agricultural land, of which 344 in use as permanent grassland.
ទីតាំង: Haarlo - Oude Eibergen, Gelderland, ប្រទេសហូឡង់
ចំនួនទីកន្លែងបច្ចេកទេស ដែលវិភាគ:
ការសាយភាយនៃបច្ចេកទេស: ត្រូវបានផ្សព្វផ្សាយត្រឹមតំបន់មួយ (approx. 1-10 គម2)
តើស្ថិតក្នុងតំបន់ការពារអចិន្ត្រៃយ៍?:
កាលបរិច្ឆេទនៃការអនុវត្ត: 10-50 ឆ្នាំ
ប្រភេទនៃការណែនាំឱ្យអនុវត្តន៍៖
Expected. More grass, less corn. Overall less yield.
Expected. Not proven.
Uncertain. More grass but less corn.
Expected. Not proven.
Less rotation and management flexibility.
Created farmer's foundation
Farmers understanding ecological impacts.
Farmers collaborating with water company
Dairy farmers have learned more about the importance of soil organic matter for their production systems, and about the consequences of soil management on soil organic matter and other aspects of soil health. This learning was brought by the exchange of knowledge between farmers and experts, and between farmers themselves. Farmers also profited from services provided to them by the farmers' foundations: shared investments (e.g. in the manure separator) and support in the application for subsidies to finance the SLM measure.
Expected. Not proven yet.
Expected. Not proven yet. Little to no
Expected. Not proven yet.
Not measured.
Expected. Not proven yet.
Expected. Not proven yet.
Expected. Not proven yet.
Not measured.
Expected. Not proven yet.