A herd of dairy cows comfortably grazing on miscanthus at GAEC Ter Retz Mer

A herd of dairy cows comfortably grazing on miscanthus at GAEC Ter Retz Mer (44) during an open house on April 2, 2026, organized by Lely Center Cholet & Lely Center Granzay Gript.

A chance to meet future miscanthus growers and users, while chatting with the farmers of the GAEC.

They have been using Miscanthus as bedding for several years and recently built a new barn for their dairy herd. The barn is very open, making it particularly well-suited for managing mixed and “composted” bedding. The bedding in the straw-bedded area dries out quickly thanks to the barn’s excellent ventilation.

One of the latest upgrades to the system: the installation of milking robots, which are fully compatible with the miscanthus bedding. The bedding is turned daily to keep it dry and clean. Previously, the rotary harrow was run daily during milking, when the animals were no longer on the straw-bedded area. With the new milking robots, animals are on the straw-bedded area throughout the day: “The cows move out of the way when we run the rotary harrow.”