Videos

For a farmer, a soil brimming with life, such as bacteria, fungi, and other organisms, is important for growing crops. But how do you get such a healthy soil? That's what Koen Willekens (ILVO) digs into in his research.

How many antibiotics are in the environment? And which antibiotics can be found? The Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) thoroughly mapped this out for the first time. What emerged? "Antibiotics are widespread in the environment. We often find them in manure and in the soil, sometimes in fairly high concentrations. This is less the case in water and vegetables," researcher Geertrui Rasschaert explains.

To reduce the use of antibiotics on farms, we need to prevent animals from becoming sick as much as possible. This involves changing how farmers keep their animals, such as rethinking housing and transportation, adjusting their diet, and allowing young animals to stay with their mothers longer. However, these changes can be difficult for farmers because they might increase costs. Fanny Baudoin, a researcher from ILVO, spoke with farmers and others involved to understand these challenges. She aims to make recommendations on how to overcome these difficulties, helping us decrease the need for antibiotics on farms.

Did you know that laying hens stay on a laying farm until they are 18 months old? "But maybe this could be 4 months longer, provided their health, welfare, and egg quality are still fine," says Karolien Langendries (ILVO). Together with her colleagues, she investigates what support old laying hens need so that they can lay good eggs for longer.

Farmers constantly need new knowledge in this rapidly changing world, for example on how to deal with climate change or what to do with new pests and diseases that threaten their crops. "Research shows that the best way for farmers to meet these challenges is to learn from other farmers," Simon Lox explains. That's why Simon organises Farm Demonstration Networks. Watch him explain what all that entails.

Why do scientists sometimes call microalgae "the green gold"? Well, in addition to biofuels and astronaut food, you could use them to make sunscreen. These tiny algae contain substances that protect them from sunlight, which can also come in handy for humans. Unfortunately, they don't naturally produce enough of those substances. Elke Vereecke researches how to grow microalgae packed with those sunlight-protecting components.

Away with bare boxwood bushes! The infamous boxwood moth went on a rampage in Flanders in recent years 🐛🌳 But don't panic! Meet Japanese holly, a robust alternative that is immune to these voracious caterpillars. The catch? The soil in many Flemish gardens is not acidic enough for this shrub to grow well. Bioengineer Esther Geukens will therefore tinker with the plants and the soil so that Japanese holly can thrive here.

Soy, that's a crop grown in tropical countries like Brazil, right? Not if it depends on Margo Vermeersch (ILVO) and her colleagues. They want to grow soy in Belgium, so that in the future we will have to import less than the current 700,000 tons of soy per year. Margo is convinced: with a little more patience, we will soon be able to enjoy Belgian soy drinks! Watch the video.

The tobacco whitefly, an exotic fly smaller than a grain of rice, can kill almost any vegetable in a greenhouse. These flies already turned up in greenhouses of vegetable growers in our country, but we don't know how big the problem is. At least, for now. Because Fauve Maertens (ILVO) wants to change that by mapping the spread of the tobacco whitefly.

What impact does man, through sand extraction for example, have on life on the bottom of the North Sea? To find out, experts manually check which (often very small) animals they can find in samples of the seafloor. But this way, it can take up to 10 hours to analyse one sample. In her research, Laure Van den Bulcke is working on a faster and cheaper method.

How do you make a dairy cow emit less nitrogen without her producing less milk? To this end, Tine Van Den Bossche (ILVO - UGent) is doing tests with different feed additives that help the cow make milk proteins, among other things. Her goal: to provide milk that is not only good for all of us, but also better for the environment!

Potatoes are highly susceptible to diseases and pests. To better protect these crops, computer scientist Jana Wieme is deploying drones and artificial intelligence. With that extra eye, potato farmers can monitor each individual plant and thus intervene quickly when needed. In this video, she explains how it works.