Dorinne - Belgium

The Dorinne site is a grazed grassland located in the Province of Namur, at 18 km south/east of Namur in the Condroz Region. The research site is a permanent grassland covering 4.22 ha. So far as we know, the field has never been cultivated and has been permanent grassland since it started being used for grazing (probably for more than a century). The climate is temperate maritime. The field is intensively managed pasture grazed by Belgian Blue cattle with an average annual stocking rate of 2.3 LU ha-1 and a grazing season length of around 160 days. The pasture is fertilized with mineral and organic. When forage production is not sufficient to feed the cattle, feed supplements are distributed to the cattle on the field. This type of management is representative of livestock farming in the region which is an important activity in the region.