Integral sustainable barn systems are good for animals, people and the environment

Because integral sustainable barns contribute to multiple sustainability goals, they are more future-proof and give farmers certainty of not having to reinvest in the short term. Improving animal welfare makes animals feel better and they are ill less often. An additional benefit is better utilisation of feed and less medication. For farmers, this ensures cost savings, better working conditions and more job satisfaction. 

Animal welfare is an important social issue. Improving animal welfare contributes to greater appreciation of the farmer by the public and consumers. The challenge is to turn this into con-cepts whereby farmers can charge a premium price for their products because the farm distin-guishes itself in terms of animal welfare and the environment.

Other advantages of integral sustainable barns are that they prevent negative effects on the environment as much as possible. Achieving positive effects on the environment is a nice chal-lenge for research and innovation.  For example, by preventing ammonia formation through daily manure removal, reducing particulate matter with a manure scraper or by saving energy by heating the barn differently.

Examples of completed integral sustainable barns include Kipster and Rondeel for laying hens, the Windstreek barn for broilers, the Dartel barn and Zonvarken for pigs and the Kwatrijn for dairy cattle. WUR researchers designed a manure scraper and dust bath house for poultry.

At our innovation centres, we aim to contribute to animal welfare and farmers' future pro-spects, and have a positive impact on the environment. For example, we plan to develop a sus-tainable dairy farm at the Agro-innovation centre De Marke in the Achterhoek region. A free-range barn with high-tech features such as measuring emissions, observing animal behaviour and automatic feeding and milking. Also suitable for producing multiple types of manure, which can be put to good use in sustainable crop production.

An important development for De Marke is the decision to have a free-range barn and to intro-duce a sand floor in summer and straw in winter. The barn remains flexible in design, allowing the barn floor to be changed as well as partial reinstallation of cubicles, for example. This will allow us to continue our research into animal dignity, different barn floor types, emission con-trol measures and manure quality.

Dairy Campus in Leeuwarden will host the first so-called EVA barn by 2027: Emission-Free and Autonomous barn. Thanks to smart ventilation, manure and urine separation and ad-vanced animal health monitoring, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, an EVA barn is self-sufficient when it comes to energy generation and water supply. At the same time, the barn provides an environment where cows can behave naturally and stay healthy. And automation will enable farmers to run the farm alone

Our Emission-Free and Autonomous barn combines drastic emission reduction with an ani-mal-friendly living environment and smart technology. These are important steps towards fu-ture-proof dairy farming. Particularly because urine goes directly through the floor into the basement and faeces are eliminated as quickly as possible, we expect to achieve a huge re-duction in emissions. There will also be a new system that treats the air in the barn. According to the calculations, we can reduce nitrogen emissions by 70 percent, for example. 

The project goes beyond the barn: it also addresses feed efficiency and precision fertilisation. Ultimately, we want to see what the long-term effects are on soil and water quality if we man-age manure and circularity in a different way. It is not therefore a traditional barn with a few improvements but a completely new system that we are designing with partners.