Contact/s:
Audrey Miserez
audrey.miserez@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
Benoit Wyzen
Beef Days - Success for the Digital Transition in Walloon Livestock Farming
Belgium
Temperate Maritime Climate
- Monitoring
- Herd management
- Forage production
Thematic Areas
Production System/s
Summary for Practicioners on the Main Finding(s)/Innovative solution(s)
During the Beef Days 2024, Elevéo, Inovéo, and Digital Wallonia delved into optimizing cattle farm management for a sustainable future. Nearly 260 livestock enthusiasts participated in the event.
The farm visit focused on presenting the services offered to beef farmers and showcasing the Van Eyck family farm. This farm raises about 500 cattle and cultivates potatoes, cereals, maize, beets, and vegetables (beans, spinach, and broad beans). Additionally, it has an innovative irrigation network. A significant portion of the forage is produced on-site: grass, beet pulp, cereals, etc.
The meat is mainly marketed through short supply chains via a farmer cooperative. The owners themselves select which animals are destined for each point of sale, and both bulls and cows are fattened on the farm.
To advance their farming practices, the owners use software and applications that facilitate decision-making.
During the Beef Days, six workshops were organized, related to practices or methods applied on this farm:
⦁ Workshop on Technical-Economic Performance and Accounting: Various indicators allow farmers to closely monitor cattle performance and make the best decisions.
⦁ Growth Monitoring Workshop: With farm scales or Elevéo’s weighing service, it is possible to closely monitor cattle weights during their growth.
⦁ Cattle Monitoring Tools Workshop: These tools save time and increase efficiency in optimizing cow health and reproductive cycles.
⦁ Forage Measurement Tools Workshop: Numerous tools exist to estimate forage quantity.
⦁ Genetics & Genomics Workshop: Genomics revolutionizes animal selection by better anticipating genetic criteria.
⦁ Mating Advice Workshop: A tool available on My Awé Net provides personalized mating advice for each herd, including inbreeding calculations.
These services aim to help farmers improve both the profitability and sustainability of their operations.
Summary for Practicioners in Native Language
Lors des Beef Days 2024, Elevéo, Inovéo et Digital Wallonia ont exploré en profondeur l’optimisation de la gestion des élevages bovins pour un avenir durable. Près de 260 passionnés d’élevage ont participé à l’événement.
La visite de la ferme s’est concentrée sur la présentation des services offerts aux éleveurs de bovins et sur la ferme de la famille Van Eyck. Cette ferme élève environ 500 bovins et cultive des pommes de terre, des céréales, du maïs, des betteraves ainsi que des légumes (haricots, épinards et fèves des marais). De plus, elle dispose d’un réseau d’irrigation innovant. Une grande partie de l’alimentation du bétail est produite sur place : herbe, pulpe de betterave, céréales, etc.
La viande est principalement commercialisée en circuit court via une coopérative d’éleveurs. Les propriétaires choisissent eux-mêmes les animaux destinés à chaque point de vente, et les taureaux comme les vaches sont engraissés sur la ferme.
Pour améliorer leur élevage, les propriétaires utilisent des logiciels et des applications facilitant la prise de décisions.
Pendant les Beef Days, six ateliers ont été organisés, mettant en avant des pratiques ou méthodes appliquées dans cette ferme :
⦁ Atelier performances technico-économiques et comptabilité : Les différents indicateurs permettent aux éleveurs de suivre de près la performance des bovins et de prendre les meilleures décisions.
⦁ Atelier suivi de croissance : Avec des balances à la ferme ou le service de pesée d’Élevéo, il est possible de suivre de près les poids des bovins au cours de leur croissance.
⦁ Atelier outils de monitoring des bovins : Ces outils offrent un gain de temps et d’efficacité pour optimiser la santé et le cycle de reproduction des vaches.
⦁ Atelier outils de mesure des fourrages : De nombreux outils existent pour estimer la quantité de fourrage.
⦁ Atelier Génétique & Génomique : La génomique révolutionne la sélection animale en permettant de mieux anticiper les critères génétiques.
⦁ Atelier conseil d’accouplement : Un outil disponible sur My Awé Net fournit des conseils personnalisés sur les accouplements dans chaque troupeau, avec des calculs de consanguinité.
Ces services visent à accompagner les éleveurs pour améliorer à la fois la rentabilité et la durabilité de leur exploitation.
Additional Information
During the Beef Days 2024, Elevéo, Inovéo, and Digital Wallonia delved into optimizing cattle farm management for a sustainable future. Nearly 260 livestock enthusiasts participated in the first edition of the Beef Days. This event highlighted essential tools for cattle farmers, aiming to optimize production and profitability while adhering to a sustainable agricultural vision.
The farm visit focused on presenting the services offered to beef farmers and showcasing the Van Eyck family farm. This farm raises around 500 cattle and cultivates potatoes, cereals, maize, beets, and vegetables (beans, spinach, and broad beans). Additionally, the farm has an innovative irrigation network. A significant portion of the cattle feed is produced on-site: grass, beet pulp, cereals, etc.
The meat is mainly marketed through short supply chains via a cooperative of farmers. The owners themselves select which animals are destined for each point of sale, and both bulls and cows are fattened on the farm.
To advance their farming practices, the owners use the Ariane herd management software and its AriSmart application, as well as the awéSmart application, which allows them to synchronize data with SenseHub collars.
These tools facilitate decision-making.
During the Beef Days, six workshops were organized, highlighting practices or methods applied on this farm:
• Technical-Economic Parameters: The services offered by Elevéo allow farmers to closely monitor their production costs and compare themselves to other farms. Besides Elevéo’s management
accounting, which allows for a detailed quantification of the farm’s productivity in euros, many technical indicators are available. These various indicators enable farmers to closely track the performance of cattle on the farm and make the best decisions.
• Growth Monitoring: This monitoring allows tracking the herd and quickly detecting any growth delays. Early detection makes it possible to implement solutions such as adjusting the groups or mothers’ diet in the case of suckler herds. This monitoring also allows for sorting to choose future breeders and to know the overall productivity of a herd.
• Cattle Monitoring Tools: Detecting heat cycles, births, and health monitoring saves time and increases efficiency, optimizing the health and reproductive cycle of cows.
• Forage Measurement Tools: Digital tools for estimating the
quantities of grass and forage on the farm were presented
(herbometer, satellite, drone, spectrometers, etc.). Many tools are available to characterize grass and forage growth in terms of both quantity and quality, thus refining rationing plans.
• Genetics & Genomics: To compare animals in selection choices, it is important to correct observed performances by environmental
effects and thus look only at the genetic part. This is the only part that will be transmitted from generation to generation. Indexes are an estimate of the animals’ genetic potential. They are calculated using Elevéo’s database, combining known pedigrees, performances, and, for several years now, the DNA of individuals. It is called genomic evaluation when the animal’s DNA analysis is integrated.
• Belgian Blue Mating Advice: A tool available on My Awé Net provides personalized mating advice for each herd, including inbreeding calculations. An essential asset for optimizing the herd.
These services aim to help farmers improve both the profitability and sustainability of their operations.