Drones and new feed mixtures for farmers in the Alps
Published: Tuesday, Jul 2nd 2024, 16:50
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Researchers in the Alps are working on methods to cope with the increasingly demanding production conditions. For example, they have developed seed mixtures for Alpine pastures that provide more fodder despite increased drought.
Compared to conventional forage tree mixtures, the new mixtures achieved up to 44 percent higher yields, as the Agroscope agricultural research institute announced on Tuesday. In Graubünden, they presented initial results from various projects at the Alpine and Mountain Farming Research Station.
As part of these projects, researchers have been investigating for three years how farmers in the Alps could better cope with the effects of climate change.
According to Agroscope, the effects of climate change on forage also mean that the reference values for calculating the optimum livestock stocking rate on alpine pastures need to be adjusted. To this end, a project at the research station is evaluating the yield and quality of forage on 14 alpine pastures in Switzerland.
The observations in 2023 showed a rich diversity of alpine plants with over 300 species. However, two thirds of the species only occurred on a few plots. A third were only observed once. According to the researchers, this makes the diversity vulnerable.
Virtual fences and herd drones
Other projects at the research station are investigating the potential of new technologies for herd management. For example, there is a project involving drones that could facilitate the monitoring of herds in steep terrain.
So-called virtual fences, GPS collars that signal animals with sounds or small electric shocks when they leave a predefined radius, are also being tested. However, such virtual fences have not yet been approved in Switzerland.
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