After maize, the grass is also fully contracted?

A number of contractors are investigating the possibility of completely taking over not only maize cultivation but also grassland management from the dairy farmer. As a result, the livestock farmer earns more in the barn and the agricultural contractor gains added value from the land.

That is the approach of the LTO Noord's 'Rewarding Work' project, which was started this spring in collaboration with 3 contracting companies and 6 dairy farmers in Overijssel. Within this project, the contractor is responsible for the roughage extraction and the tillage. As a result, the dairy farmer receives more and better roughage, and the contractor can work more efficiently.

The idea comes from Karel Kennes of contracting company De Schalm from Alphen (North Brabant). Since 2014, the contracting company has been fully responsible for the grassland production for a number of dairy farmers in its clientele. The dairy farmers can thus focus on livestock management and the contracting company can make better use of its knowledge and skills to improve mineral utilization, increase grass production and improve feed quality.

Size makes a difference
The possibilities offered by precision agriculture are also maximized in this way. Labor costs do not decrease per kilo of milk. The added value for dairy farmers therefore consists of savings on feed costs and animal health costs. The company can make better use of the machine capacity through better coordinated planning. The plan is to eventually work with long-term contracts and a fixed cost price per kilo of milk, although up to now a cost price per hour and per hectare has been settled. Whether it actually comes from a different way of invoicing remains to be seen.

"The differences between the companies are large", Kennes acknowledges. "It makes quite a difference whether a company with 100 dairy cows uses 100 hectares or 20 hectares. It is important to find a way of paying that stimulates the contractor to achieve the best possible result for the farmer." In any case, according to Kennes, it appears that the method alone has added value. "This is because as a company you sit down with the farmer to discuss how to achieve the highest possible roughage production."

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