The EIDER project – a multi-criteria method to assess the sustainability and resilience of grass-based dairy farms in Brittany (France)

The EIDER project – a multi-criteria method to assess the sustainability and resilience of grass-based dairy farms in Brittany (France)

The EIDER project aims to assess the resilience of grass-based dairy farms to climate change in Brittany, France's biggest dairy region. Assessing reslience involves characterising the vulnerability of farms, taking into account technico-economic factors. More than 50 indicators are analysed (rainfall, milk price, etc.). The data is collected from 29 dairy farms associated with CEDAPA, using different forage systems (from 100% grass systems to 30% maize in the forage area etc.) and different strategies (individual milking, group calving). The study also includes the assessment of the INRAE experimental farms of Lusignan and Mirecourt. The project makes the link between forage systems and vulnerability, variations from one year to the next, depending on the various hazards experienced.

First results: Alhough the systems using the highest proportion of grass have the most variable milk production, their economic efficiency remains stable. A 6-month internship supervised by CEDAPA is currently being carried out by Joséphine DUPONT, an agricultural engineering student from Toulouse, who is evaluating the sustainability and resilience of grass-based dairy farms in Brittany concerned with climate change. Even though the EIDER project is officially over for INRAE, Matthieu Carof from UMR SAS continues to monitor progress and exchange ideas with CEDAPA. 

Expanding the sample and making farmers more aware about resilience are important perspectives for the project.

Presentation of the EIDER project by Olivier Godinot (INRAE) : click here (french)