Background According to a 2006 survey by the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations), agriculture accounts for about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Methane produced by dairy cows represents 76% of total methane emissions. On the other hand, the complicated digestive system of ruminants allows them to convert even poor-quality forage into milk and meat. For that reason, cattle are important sources of protein and fat, especially in countries with a high proportion of grasslands. In addition, grasslands can be a substantial carbon sink, also contributing to the reduction of a country’s carbon footprint. Preserving these areas is thus crucial to lowering carbon emissions. Encouraging grazing can help preserve these grasslands, and the amount of methane emitted can be mitigated by improving farm management, feeding strategies and by genetic selection. Objectives The main LIFE-Dairyclim project objectives are to: 1) Contribute to the mitigation of climate impacts and to decrease GHG emissions in dairy farming, by optimising feeding strategies both in winter (barn feeding) and in summer (grazing and supplementary feeding). This will be reached by first evaluating different diets using variable amounts of forages distributed as silage or as grazed grass, and commercial feeds of diverse compositions in the experimental farm. The best ones will be promoted in pilot farms in the three countries involved in the project: Luxembourg, Denmark, and Belgium. Furthermore, new techniques allowing precision grazing will be tried out in order to make the best use of the grass. Attention will be paid to finding the best compromise regarding resilience and sustainability. A life-cycle analysis (LCA) of the milk production will also be carried out; 2) Contribute to the conservation of grasslands by highlighting the importance of grasslands for dairy farming as a potential carbon sink. It also aims to increase grazing practice, which has an additional impact in terms of reduced energy consumption. Moreover, monitoring the loss of grasslands and the proportion of grazing dairy cattle will allow to estimate their impact on emissions related to land use and land use change in the three participating countries; and 3) Produce guidelines to ensure the dissemination and the transferability of the results of the project. This objective will be reached by publishing a handbook including recommendations on agricultural good practice, allowing a reduction in climate impact and GHG emissions. A website will also be set up. Expected results: 1) The provision of precise data on possible actions to reduce GHG emissions and carbon footprint per kg of milk per cow and per hectare at farm scale, while optimised feeding practices for dairy cattle will decrease methane emissions in the three involved countries by 10%; 2) Open days organised at the pilot farms will help to demonstrate the benefits of optimised feeding strategies to the other farmers, facilitating the transfer of the results and strengthening the after-LIFE phase of the project. The transferability of the strategies to other European regions will also have been ensured by the industrial feed industry partner, who is active and has partnerships in numerous European countries; and 3) Improved grazing management allowing for better use of grass in the daily diet and a reduction of methane emissions and CO2 fluxes by about 10% compared to baseline. The overall activities related to the project will also contribute to raising awareness of the impacts of grasslands loss and the loss of grazing on carbon footprints.