| Name of I3S | Dairy Brittany |
| Country | France |
| Lead partner | ACTA – Idele, the French Livestock Institute |
| Other partners | Experimental farm of Trevarez (CRAB) |
| Sector | Dairy |
| Pedoclimatic area | Atlantic area |
The French dairy I3S is located in the West part of France, which is one of the main dairy areas in France, with a focus on the Brittany Region.
Brittany is France’s first region for milk production, with more than four out of ten farms producing milk. Around 11 300 dairy farms produced 5,6 million tonnes of milk in 2017, more than 22% of national production…
With some farms producing less than 200 tonnes of milk annually and some delivering more than 1 thousand tonnes, Brittany obviously presents a broad range of dairy farming systems. One common point lies in the feeding system. Thanks to Brittany temperate weather, producers can rely on fodder produced on farm (maize and grass mainly) and cows graze for at least six months in the year. Producers keep purchased feed at low levels, around 1 100 kg/ cow/year, enabling feed costs to remain quite low.
The I3S will mobilize the demonstration farm of Trévarez, 10 lead pilot farms (including the experimental farm of Derval), and 100 outreach farms. The I3S will focus on engaging dairy farmers and the dairy industry, along with a network of multi-actors: research/development organizations, advisory services, dairy groups, cooperatives, animal nutrition and genetics companies, energy companies, banks, territorial bodies. The overall objective is to achieve climate neutrality in the dairy sector, using a large panel of levers around the mitigation of GHG emissions and carbon sequestration
Main innovative solutions :
- Technical : Fodder area, Herd management, Feed management, housing and storage, manure and fertilizers management, hedges and wood areas, energy solutions (solar panels, precooling of milk, biogas, wood energy…).
- Organizational/policy/supply chain/financial : Implementation of Carbon credits related to Carbon Agri label and France Carbone Agri Association, use of local proteins.