Steep areas, hat pastures, moving pastures and numerous other structural conditions on the farm require new approaches to pasture management.

In the EIP Pasture Innovations project, a group of organic farmers and experts from research and consulting have come together to focus intensively on new possibilities for pasture farming over the next three years.

Project process

Experiments are set up, evaluated and evaluated on the farms. At the end of the project period, the knowledge gained will support many companies in grazing. BIO AUSTRIA took over the management and coordination of this project. In addition to the practical operations, the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Studia Schlierbach, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, the University of Veterinary Medicine as well as advisors from the This email address is protected from spambots! JavaScript must be enabled to display. and involved in the project by the Chambers of Agriculture. 

In her welcoming remarks, BIO AUSTRIA chairwoman Gertraud Grabmann pointed out the need for new knowledge about pasture farming. “The stricter legal requirements for organic farms, the effects of climate change, but also the ever higher expectations of consumers in agricultural production are increasing the pressure on farmers. Not all farms have ideal conditions for pasture farming. They need answers on how they can increase the proportion of their animals on the pastures under the conditions on the farm.”

Priv. Doz. Dr. Steinwidder Andreas, from the Raumberg-Gumpenstein Organic Institute, pointed out the need for innovative approaches to pasture: “The requirements for companies in pasture farming have changed significantly recently. In the future, more animals will come to pasture and will therefore also be exposed to areas that are not necessarily typical pasture areas. Among other things, we need new information about which seed mixtures work well on areas that are heavily damaged, in dry regions or on small ruminant pastures. We are also moving into new territory when it comes to grazing dairy cows with calves.”

Project goal

The “Pasture Innovation” project is funded by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI). The aim of EIP AGRI is to promote innovative ideas in the agricultural sector and thus bring new knowledge from practice into practice. In the long term, this is intended to ensure the production of agricultural products.