The Calf and Beef Research Facility is located in Boxmeer, the Netherlands, at the same location as our Swine Research Facility. This facility makes it possible to simulate the global diversity of calf and beef farms around the world in terms of climate, breed, temperature, humidity and housing conditions.
The construction of the facility started in 2014, and it was officially opened in April 2016 by Knut Nesse, former CEO of Nutreco and Louise Fresco, chair of Wageningen University. The event was attended by colleagues, industry partners and academics from more than 40 countries.
The facility enables us to house the calves in individual units that simulate a 1,000-cow farm or in group housed units. In both areas, we can fully control the environment to simulate the diverse conditions on farms around the globe. The facility is equipped with electronic feeding stations and stations for calf milk replacer, that enable us to continually monitor measures such as feed, milk and water intake and study intake patterns. The facility also makes automatic weighing and sample collection possible.
In the group-housed beef unit, we are able to house different breeds in a controlled environment. All of the pens have electronic feeding stations for forage, concentrates and minerals to measure intake and intake patterns. In addition, there are metabolism units to intensively monitor animal health.
Young Holstein Friesian dairy calves are sourced from neighbouring partner farms or from our dairy research facility and kept in a special calf reception room to minimise disease transfer and to ensure the health and safety of the calves.
The metabolism unit provides a unique research area where calves or mature cows can be closely monitored for a longer period.
This barn is a simulation of a 1,000-cow farm, where 60 pens are placed to house calves from birth (40kg) until eight weeks (100kg body weight) in a controlled environment.
In this department, the environment can be fully controlled, and calves can be divided over four pens with eight to 12 animals each (dependent on weight) from two weeks until 200 kg body weight.
The meeting room is suitable for groups of around 20 people and provides a birds-eye view of the facility, through the windows of each department.
The group-housed facility for beef cattle has room for four pens with 12-18 animals each (dependent on weight). Different breeds of beef cattle, from 300 kg until 800 kg body weight, can be kept here in a fully controlled environment.
