Jantine van Middelkoop

Jantine van Middelkoop is a Researcher and PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research specializing in Animal Nutrition and Animal Production Systems. Her work focuses on sustainable grassland management, greenhouse gas mitigation, and circular nutrient cycling within dairy farming systems, with significant contributions to national research initiatives in the Netherlands.

Education:

• PhD candidate in Animal Sciences at Wageningen University & Research (since 2012)

Her research centers on optimizing grassland systems to reduce nitrous oxide, ammonia, and methane emissions through innovative fertilization practices, forage quality improvement, and phosphorus management. She investigates physiological relationships between grass composition and feed value while developing practical frameworks for legal nutrient compliance and closed-loop farming systems.

Recent publications reveal strong trends toward field-based solutions for emission reduction in renovated grasslands, balanced phosphorus application in mixed grazing systems, and protein optimization in dairy rations. Her work integrates 26+ years of experimental data with current regulatory challenges, emphasizing actionable strategies for farmers and policymakers in Dutch agriculture.

As project leader for multiple LVVN-funded initiatives including 'Reinventing Circular Dairy Farming' and 'Closing the P-cycle,' she directs substantial research grants focused on manure fraction utilization and phosphorus-neutral dairy systems. Though currently a PhD candidate without formal advisees, her leadership in national projects demonstrates significant research direction capacity.

She operates within Wageningen Livestock Research's interdisciplinary teams, collaborating with soil scientists, agronomists, and animal nutrition specialists to address complex sustainability challenges across farm and regional scales in European grassland systems.