Marcinelle: an agroecological dairy farming system in uplands, designed and managed with citizens [Practice Abstract]
Marcinelle is a system experiment involving 28 dairy cows and their offspring, implemented since 2020 on 62 hectares of permanent grassland at the INRAE Herbipôle experimental farm in Marcenat (French Massif central, 1,100 m asl). It was co-designed in 2019 in a participatory process, and is driven by a collective of researchers and regional stakeholders, including local farmers and citizens.
Marcinelle aims to implement and evaluate a combination of practices that meet agroecological and citizen expectations: environmental symbiosis (no mineral fertilization and purchased concentrates, late mowing, hedgerows), preservation of the local Ferrandaise breed, animal health and welfare (maximization of grazing, late and gradual dam-calf separation), farmer welfare (once-a-day milking for part of the year and parlour closure for several weeks), and product quality (promoting grassland biodiversity within the forage system).
A multicriteria assessment carried out every 2 years using 5 diagnostic tools (Welfare Quality® [animal welfare assessment], DIAM [multifunctional analysis of farm’s forage system], CAP’2ER® [environmental performance in ruminant farming], IDEA [farm sustainability indicators], and HVE [high environmental value]) enables the Steering Committee to move Marcinelle towards an even more agroecological system.
These diagnostic tools are based on researchers' regular analysis of agronomic (quantity and quality of harvested fodders, manure spreading, grazing), animal production (milk yield and quality, growth, reproduction and animal health) and economic data (milk and meat income, structural and operational charges). However, system sustainability requires that citizens who support such an ecological and ethical milk and veal meat production agree to pay more for these products.
For 5 years, this participatory research project has promoted agroecological dairy farming to more than 500 INRAE farm visitors (students, farmers, regional stakeholders).
Geographical location: Upland dairy farming areas, French Massif central
Keywords: Livestock, Transdisciplinary research
Country: France
