OptiBarn is a European research project with the aim to develop regional, sustainable adaptation strategies for dairy cow husbandry.

The transnational project is funded in the scope of the FACCE ERA-NET Plus initiative „Climate Smart Agriculture: Adaptation of agricultural systems in Europe“ of the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) of the European commission.

OptiBarn tends to develop region-specific, sustainable adaptation strategies for dairy housing, focusing on an optimised climatisation of naturally ventilated buildings (NVB).

Naturally ventilated buildings are particularly vulnerable to climate change since the indoor climate strongly depends on the extremes and variability of the outdoor climate. Without sound adaptation strategies, increased climate variability will result in a sub-optimal thermal environment in many livestock buildings impairing production and welfare of animals.

Appropriate construction methods and management of the buildings can improve the thermal control and provide precise identification of factors affecting the thermal control capacity of the buildings under commercial farm conditions.