A Challenging Summer for Farmers in the Netherlands
On 16 September 2025, the southern hub of the OrganicClimateNET project in the Netherlands came together after an unusually dry summer. The drought hit particularly hard in the south of the country, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to provide their cows with enough fresh grass.
The meeting was hosted at the farm of Marco van Liere, farm ambassador of the project, where the focus was on a practice that could help farmers adapt to climate change: kurzrasen grazing. The word kurzrasen comes from German and literally means short lawn. It is a form of continuous grazing where grass is kept very short — usually between 4 and 5 cm, and in extreme droughts, as low as 3 to 4 cm.
Unlike rotational strip grazing, kurzrasen is a system designed for organic dairy farming that emphasizes grass efficiency, soil health, and milk yield per hectare rather than per individual cow.
Marco van Liere’s Journey with Kurzrasen
Marco first discovered kurzrasen in 2013, after reading an article in a Fleckvieh magazine. A year later, German advisor Edmund Leisen visited his farm and shared a method that changed Marco’s approach:
Instead of focusing on milk yield per cow, the system measures milk yield per hectare of grass. According to Leisen, one hectare can produce up to 10,000 liters of milk per year exclusively from grass.
To test this, Marco tracked his results for years using an Excel sheet. His numbers confirmed the theory: 8,000 to 10,000 liters of milk per hectare annually, all from grass-based production.
Kurzrasen in Practice
Implementing kurzrasen requires timely and consistent grazing management:
Start of grazing: From mid-March to mid-April, before the grass grows too long.
Land division: Marco’s farm is divided into four grazing blocks, although the entire area can be grazed as one if conditions allow.
Stocking rates:
Mid-March to mid-June/July → ~5 cows per hectare per day
Mid-July to mid-September → ~4 cows per hectare per day
When grass growth slows down — especially during dry summers — supplementary feeding in the barn is introduced from mid-September onwards. In 2025, due to prolonged drought, relying solely on grass was not possible.
Advantages of Kurzrasen Grazing
During the meeting, Marco highlighted several key benefits of the kurzrasen system compared to other grazing methods:
🌱 Better soil quality: Preservation of white clover in sandy soils, reducing the need for grassland renovation and maintaining soil fertility.
🐄 Improved cow health: Short grass provides higher nutritional value and stabilizes rumen function, with fewer pH fluctuations than strip grazing.
⏳ Time efficiency: Fixed grazing blocks reduce labor, while cows quickly adapt to the system.
Field Tour and Practical Observations
The meeting included a pasture walk, where participants examined root growth and cow condition. Despite the drought, the cows looked healthy, and the system proved resilient.
However, Marco also noted some challenges:
From late summer onwards, kurzrasen doesn’t always provide enough grass intake for freshly calved cows.
To balance this, he aligns his calving season with the indoor period (autumn/winter). This ensures the grass quality in spring and summer better matches the cows’ needs, while he can dedicate more time to calves and calving cows in October.
This adaptive strategy allows Marco to manage both land in summer and animals in winter efficiently.
Looking Ahead: Kurzrasen and Climate-Resilient Dairy Farming
As climate change continues to bring hotter, drier summers to the Netherlands, kurzrasen grazing offers a promising, sustainable pathway for organic dairy farmers.
By focusing on milk yield per hectare, optimizing grass efficiency, and improving soil resilience, kurzrasen proves that innovation in traditional farming practices can help secure the future of dairy farming in a changing climate.
