The webinar about the present and future of livestock farming was organized by the Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania and attended by farmers, scientists and consultants from 14 countries – France, Denmark, Luxembourg, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Finland, Poland, Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, the Netherlands, on 3 October.
This seminar was focus on the Lithuanian dairy sector, experiences and examples from our Lithuanian farmers.
Justas Pošiūnas, Jurgis Karazinas and Robertas Rudys, owners of Lithuanian dairy farms and young farmers, shared their experiences.
Innovative herd management and genetic and breeding research
Dr. Edvardas Gedgaudas, consultant of Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania and director of the Lithuanian Cattle Breeders’ Association, shared his experience on innovative technologies for herd management, genetic improvement and feeding could be applied to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and presented real-life examples of how these technologies are already being applied in Lithuania on farms owned by farmers Jurgis Karazinas and Robertas Rudis.
Dr. Arūnas Svitojus, President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, presented the general situation of the dairy sector in Lithuania, highlighting the difficult situation of farmers’ existence due to the low milk purchase prices and the commitments they have made. “I am delighted that Lithuania is able to successfully take advantage of the EU’s innovation support opportunities. However, it should be noted that too few organizations and research institutions in Lithuania are taking advantage of these opportunities. According to the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology, as of July 2020, the number of Lithuanian organizations participating in Horizon2020 projects amounts to only 0.4% of all EU organizations. So, we can be proud that the Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania is one of the few organizations in Lithuania participating in Horizon2020 activities. Today, by participating in the Horizon2020 project “Dairy Resilience” together with farmers, scientists and consultants from 14 foreign countries, we hope that the results of the project will be of benefit not only to the dairy sector in Lithuania, but also to the dairy sector in the EU”, Dr. A. Svitojus said.