GrassWise project kicks off in Cork

The focus of GrassWise is to generate and benchmark grassland data across Europe’s nine pedoclimatic zones, integrating partner farmer networks, satellite observations, and grassland decision support tools and datasets. The project network spans Europe’s nine pedoclimatic zones (from Boreal to Mediterranean regions) and includes Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Romania, Serbia, and New Zealand. GrassWise will work with 135 Partner Farms and 9 Communities of Practice in the development of an integrated European grassland data platform. The project will deliver a new generation of decision-support tools, co-created through a Multi-Actor Approach, enabling farmers to benchmark multifunctionality, improve grassland management, and adopt profitable, low-emission, circular practices.

At the official launch of GrassWise, Billy Kelleher, MEP commented; ‘Grasslands cover 34% of the EU’s agricultural area, yet their full value remains under-recognised and underutilised. This project is timely as it will develop new innovations to better capitalise on the sustainability of grassland systems across the nine European pedoclimatic zones.

Billy Kelleher, who was recently re-elected 1^st Vice President of Renew Europe added; ‘This is the first grassland-focussed Horizon Europe project led by Ireland, and places Ireland firmly as a European leader in grassland science. This is appropriate given Ireland’s tradition of grass-based milk and meat production.’

GrassWise builds on existing communities like Grazing4AgroEcology (previously funded by EU) and the European Grassland Federation (EGF), ensuring immediate access to real grassland data and real-time co-creation activities. It is transdisciplinary consortium spans agronomy, ecology, socioeconomics, earth observation, and data science, ensures scalability from grassland farms to EU level.

Professor Michael O’Donovan, Head of the Teagasc Grassland Science Research Department and Coordinator of GrassWise, commented; ‘This is an ambitious and exciting European grassland project which we built on solid foundations and has a novel approach. The project will measure, monitor, and benchmark European grasslands within the project life span, and we hope to develop long term grassland datasets which European grassland farmers can use beyond the project lifetime. That makes this project unique.’

Dr Deirdre Hennessy, University College Cork and GrassWise Work Package Leader commented; ‘through field-based research and data analyses, GrassWise aims to provide farmers with data and knowledge to improve the productivity of grassland-based livestock production systems as well as enhance feed quality, nutrient use efficiency, grassland biodiversity, and other grassland ecosystem services.

Dr Hennessy said ‘GrassWise is ambitious in its objectives but realistic. Action-ready, rooted in real farming practice, the project is well aligned with the EU’s sustainability goals, but is really focussed on developing more insights in grassland science across Europe.’  The consortium has placed improved grassland management in livestock production systems at the centre of its objectives, ensuring these ecosystems continue to deliver food, biodiversity and resilience across scales, supporting farmers, policymakers and society in building a climate-neutral and ecologically resilient future.’

Further information regarding the GrassWise project, its objectives and project partners can be found at www.grasswise.eu .