Eight partners from the EIP.NRW project GeTie used this year’s BRS annual meeting in Neumünster to inform about the interim results of the project in personal meetings. After last year’s annual meeting and general meeting was only possible virtually due to the corona pandemic, 250 experts met in person for the first time in the Holstenhallen on August 30th/31st.
The focus of the conference was on the question “2021 – Fateful year for German animal husbandry?”. Accompanied by the moderation of Sönke Hausschild (Bauernverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V.), the possibilities of a professional handling of increasing challenges for livestock farms have been presented and discussed from different perspectives. It was noticeable in all presentations and contributions from practical farmers how important it is to them that their work in the fields of action animal welfare, climate protection and biodiversity is valued. Also, the added value from the services you provide to improve communication and the exchange of decision-relevant information in regional and cross-border value chains were the subject of numerous discussions.
In this context, the idea behind the EQA platform cooperative was received with great interest. This technical and organizational innovation, which is currently being developed, will enable farmers to exchange data with their suppliers and customers on an equal footing and to be rewarded for the regular provision of their own data. The scientific staff of the International FoodNetCenter at the University of Bonn had the opportunity to conduct a series of expert interviews during the event. They are an important basis for the currently ongoing empirical studies on the digital communication of common animal welfare services between suppliers and customers of farms and the improvement of transparency among them.
