Sector | Livestock farming Dairy farming

Dairy farmers, their customers, and their suppliers will find here the answer to “what can ILVO do for me?”. You’ll get a brief overview of relevant expertise, analyses, infrastructure, and the professional approach that characterizes ILVO. You can contact the Cattle Information Center for specific services and questions regarding collaboration.

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What does ILVO do?

ILVO conducts feed trials with its own roughage and customized concentrates for dairy cattle. Feed intake, milk production, and milk composition are measured, among other things. In addition, ILVO performs emission trials to determine the effect of rations on the N and P balance and the emission of greenhouse gases.

> List of co-creation possibilities regarding cattle
ILVO performs chemical and physical analyses of roughage, raw materials for concentrates, by-products, and compound feeds. ILVO provides advice on good silage practices, estimates the energy and protein value of cattle feeds, tests the rumen stability and intestinal availability of rumen-resistant products, and examines the effect of feed materials or additives on rumen fermentation.

> List of feed analyses

> What ILVO does for feed production
Dairies and on-farm food processors can contact the Food Pilot, a pilot food processing plant of ILVO and Flanders’ FOOD, with questions concerning food processing, process and recipe development as well as food safety, authenticity, and quality analyses. There is a specific subsidy channel for on-farm food processors, i.e. the ‘KRATOS innovation support for on-farm food processors’.

> List of food analyses

> What ILVO does for food companies
ILVO has a lab for the chemical analysis of animal products, such as feces, urine, milk, meat, blood, and rumen fluid.

> List of animal-related analyses
ILVO has extensive expertise in detecting veterinary medicine residues, such as antibiotics, in animal products, such as milk. This expertise is used to help dairy farmers find the source of contamination related to (chronic) problems with positive antibiotic test results in their milk. This involves looking at natural inhibitors in the milk, in addition to the actual use of antibiotics on the farm.

> Contact: wim.reybroeck@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
ILVO has extensive experience in measuring and evaluating emissions of ammonia, odor, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases in and around barns, as well as their possible reduction strategies. The reduction of enteric emissions (methane) from cattle is one of the spearheads of climate research at ILVO. ILVO can carry out in vivo trials to reduce the methane emissions as well as the nitrous oxide, ammonia, and CO₂ emitted by individual cows. In addition, ILVO can measure methane emissions under practical conditions in the barn and in the pasture. ILVO also provides advice and supports the sectors and government authorities involved in the development and evaluation of (ammonia) emission-reduction barn systems.

> More info about ILVO climate research: Center of Expertise for Agriculture and Climate
ILVO conducts research into the effect of different types of feed, weather conditions (heat stress), (pasture) management, and barn environment and layout (including stalls) on the welfare, behavior, physiology, and morphology of dairy and beef cattle. ILVO offers scientific expertise and measurement-technical support for animal welfare assessments in both experimental and practical conditions. Practical training courses, with or without external experts, are also available. Well-known examples are the Welfare Quality© Protocol and Low-Stress Stockmanship.
ILVO develops and validates sensors and algorithms for monitoring animals: eating patterns, drinking patterns, water consumption, weight, lameness, behavior, location, etc. ILVO has a multidisciplinary team with both technical and domain-wide knowledge and combines new sensors with advanced data analysis to create meaningful management support tools. Improvements to animal welfare is of paramount importance. Where possible, the focus is therefore on the level of the individual animal, with dashboards and advice tailored to the farmer. Last, ILVO holds training courses and presentations on the use of sensors and data on cattle farms.

> More info: Living Lab Agrifood Technology
ILVO provides advice on the maintenance of the milking installation or cooling tank. ILVO organizes training courses for this purpose and provides assistance to the milk cooling tank technicians, milking machine technicians, and milk production specialists. ILVO also inspects the measuring equipment used for measuring milking installations and cooling tanks.
ILVO conducts experimental and practical research into the influence of crop management on forages such as grass and corn. This includes looking at the impact of variety selection, soil cultivation, fertilization, etc. on yield and quality but also on soil quality, emissions, carbon storage, leaching, and biodiversity. New cultivation systems, such as agroforestry and agroecology principles, are being tested in practice.

> What ILVO does for feed production

> What ILVO does for Arable farming
ILVO has built up years of research expertise in the optimal management of extensive and intensive mowing fields and pastureland. The focus is on higher yields and quality (e.g. digestibility) with maximum carbon storage and minimal environmental pressure. In addition, ILVO puts a lot of grassland research effort into less common grasses and mixtures of grasses and leguminous plants.

> What ILVO does for feed production
ILVO investigates the potential of new forage crops, such as field beans and sorghum, for Flemish farms. This includes yield, crop rotation, and profitability, as well as compatibility with Flemish rations, animal performance, and animal emissions. Processing more local, protein-rich raw materials into rations in order to limit the proportion of imported soy is one of the spearheads of climate research at ILVO.

> What ILVO does for feed production and arable farming

> More info about ILVO climate research: Center of Expertise for Agriculture and Climate
ILVO conducts research into water use in agriculture. Literally making room for water is central here, so that water has the chance to infiltrate the soil, so it can be buffered for dry periods, and so it can be collected for reuse. Water is an important spearhead in climate research at ILVO.

> More info about ILVO climate research: Center of Expertise for Agriculture and Climate

> Read more about Water in agriculture
ILVO strives for economic security and a more stable income for all links in the agrifood chain, through economic business and sector analysis, research into profitability, added value, market competition, organization of sales, consumer preferences, and the role of cities and municipalities. In order to convert the theoretical knowledge from the research into recommendations that provide support for business leaders, ILVO builds useful web applications and tools.
ILVO has expertise in agroforestry, agroecology, and organic livestock farming. Within this framework, ILVO examines, among other things, how animal and plant production on farms or between farms can be integrated in order to close nutrient cycles (manure – feed).

> Read about what ILVO does for organic agriculture

> Read more about Agroforestry

How does ILVO work?

ILVO aims to support all stakeholders in Flemish dairy farming, from the primary producer, the supplying and processing industry, the distribution chain, to government authorities and consumers, with the above broad palette of expertise and a modern research infrastructure. Contemporary challenges are handled by experienced professionals. Together with the other parties involved in the chain, they work on customized solutions.

Your point of contact: the Cattle Information Center (in Dutch)

The Cattle Information Center (Rundveeloket) is the ideal point of contact for all questions on dairy or beef farming. The answer is always objective, independent, and scientifically substantiated. The Cattle Information Center keeps you informed of the latest research results by participating in study days and information sessions, as well as through publications in the trade press, an up-to-date online knowledge center (in Dutch), a website, and a quarterly (free) newsletter (in Dutch).

Last, the Cattle Information Center is happy to listen to your concerns, to translate them into concrete research questions, and to bring the necessary partners to the table.

Your ILVO guarantee

Scientifically-based solutions
Individual and/or co-creative guidance for innovation trajectories
Confidential treatment of your question
Clear and easy-to-interpret results that are applicable to day-to-day operations
Technological support for various farm processes
Specialised analyses in the Animal Marine Laboratory (ANIMALAB)

Specialized research infrastructure

Modern experimental dairy barn (built in 2014) with space for 140 lactating cows, calves and heifers.
74 RIC feeders for registration of individual feed uptake.
6 rooms to measure gas exchange and 2 Greenfeed devices to study (greenhouse) gas emissions (methane, nitrous oxide, CO₂, and ammonia).
Mobile Greenfeeds for emissions research at pasture.
Devices in the barn to measure ammonia emissions under natural ventilation.
Research barn to measure ammonia emissions under conditions with straw bedding.

All of the ILVO expertise at your service

ILVO works in an interdisciplinary fashion and has a network of living labs that work closely together. A problem or question is therefore examined from many different angles by ILVO experts from different disciplines. This is guaranteed by ILVO's broad and systematic approach, together with the typical openness of the ILVO culture.