Robot & Grazing in Practice: Insights from the Grassland Grazing Days 2026

On April 21 and 22, the Grassland Grazing Days took place at Aeres Farms in Dronten. With more than 200 dairy farming students and young dairy farmers in attendance, this year’s event focused entirely on the theme ‘Smart grazing, smart milking’. Various workshops were organized around grassland management and grazing (in combination with robotic milking). The project Robot & Grazing? We’ve Got It Covered!, a collaboration between NAJK, Aeres University of Applied Sciences Dronten, and Netwerk Grondig, also made an active contribution.

Interactive Workshop: Robot Milking & Grazing

As part of the Robot & Grazing project, NAJK and ambassador dairy farmers Henry Steverink and Wytze Kinderman hosted an interactive workshop focused on the combination of robotic milking and grazing. Participants actively worked on practical case studies and shared the challenges they encounter on their own farms.

The workshop explored ways to deal with these challenges, including questions such as:

• How do you motivate cows to go outside?
• How do you ensure they return to the milking robot on time?
• How do you balance supplementary feeding in the barn with grass intake from grazing?

The so-called “toolbox” was also discussed: a practical collection of tips & tricks to encourage active grazing while ensuring cows efficiently return to the robot.

Successful grazing with a milking robot starts with a solid plan — one that takes into account ration management, paddock layout, routing, and the daily rhythm of both cows and robot. Participants actively reflected on choices and bottlenecks and shared real-life case studies, leading to recognition, discussion, and new insights.

A Broad Perspective on Grass and Grazing

Other parties, including Bert Philipsen, Agrifirm, and DeLaval, also shared their expertise on robotic milking and grazing during their workshops. In addition, topics such as grass quality, protein efficiency, and emissions were discussed.

The workshops highlighted that effective grazing offers several advantages: a higher milk price, lower feed costs because cows consume high-quality grass themselves, and better utilization of fresh grass. With proper management, grazing can therefore provide both economic and practical benefits.

Working Together on the Future

The Grassland Grazing Days demonstrated that the combination of robotic milking and grazing continues to evolve rapidly. By sharing knowledge and jointly searching for solutions, more and more dairy farmers are becoming able to successfully implement this combination.

The Robot & Grazing project remains committed to collecting and sharing practical knowledge, with the goal of supporting dairy farmers in making smart choices regarding grazing and automation.