Grassa
in action
Curious about how dairy farmer Willy Baltussen experiences Grassa’s solution?
About
Grassa
At Grassa, we’re building a greener, more resilient food system from farm to fork. We unlock the full potential of grass, the world’s most abundant and protein-rich crop, transforming it into high-value ingredients for animal feed today and human food tomorrow.
Developed in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research, our technology enables farmers to create more value locally while reducing the environmental footprint of feed and food production.
Local leaves, global impact — that is our vision: use what grows abundantly around us to nourish a growing world, sustainably, affordably, and locally.
FAQ
Click on the question to see the answer.
What does partnering with Grassa mean for dairy farmers?
Partnering with Grassa allows you to create additional value from the grass you already grow, without fundamentally changing your current way of working. You allocate 3–5 hectares of grassland for the Grassa process. The grass is mown and transported similarly to a fresh grass feeding system, then pressed. The opened grass fibre is returned to your farm the same day as ensiled bales and is ready to feed to your cows after about two weeks.
Milk production remains the same in both volume and quality, while your farm benefits from better nutrient use, reduced nitrogen losses, and additional income. At the same time, you contribute to producing more food locally from the grass already grown on your land.
All mowing, transport, and processing logistics are handled by a local contractor, always in close coordination with you as the farmer.
What does opened grass deliver in practice?
Opened grass fibre is a high-quality roughage with around 15% protein, VEM ≈ 1,000, DVE ≈ 80, and an OEB around 0. This balanced nutrient profile improves the efficiency of protein and mineral use on the farm and provides strong feed value per hectare.
In practice, cows can produce the same quantity and quality of milk while utilising nutrients more efficiently. The improved protein balance supports stable digestion and performance, while lower excess protein reduces nitrogen excretion.
Opened grass silage blends easily into the total ration, and cows readily eat it, partly due to its lactic acid–rich flavour.
What are the concrete benefits for the nitrogen and manure balance at farm level?
With each hectare, the Grassa process can reduce manure removal by up to 20 M3. Grass volumes and composition are measured and the same accounts for the opened grass fibre, this means the benefits are already ‘geborgt’ in the BEX.
How does this create additional value for dairy farmers?
Grassa compensates €200 per hectare of grass per year. At the same time, manure disposal can decrease, and your farm contributes to local protein production, reducing dependence on imported feed such as soy.
The process unfolds within current harvesting and feeding practices while contributing to lower emissions and a more circular, future-proof dairy farming operations.
The Grassa processs
Grassa is not building a new food system from scratch. We are upgrading the one that already exists.
Our solution integrates directly into current dairy farming operations, making implementation practical, low-risk and immediately scalable. No new land. No complex restructuring. Just a more efficient way to use what farmers already grow.
Freshly cut grass is taken to a nearby press and separated into two streams: protein-reduced fibre returns to the farmer as optimized feed, while the juice is centrally refined into functional ingredients, turning one harvest into multiple value streams.
Pilot
press
Scale-up timeline
Founded in 2014, Grassa spent a decade researching and refining the technology that makes grass-based ingredient extraction practical and scalable. That groundwork led to our first pilot press in 2024, and our demo press, opening spring 2026, is the next step.
Our model is simple and repeatable: local presses close to farms, feeding into a central refinery for ingredient production. Decentralised where it matters, centralised where it scales.
2024
Press & refinery pilot
2026
Demo grass press 30 farmers
2029
EFSA approval food ingredients
2030
Full scale refinery
2014
Founding of Grassa
2020
Proof of concept
Demo
press
Zonnepark Branderwal: a double-purpose solar park of 20 hectares on the outskirts of Kootwijkerbroek, where 42,588 solar panels generate clean energy for more than 7,000 households.
This is the location of our demo press, an ideal place for innovative solutions in the agricultural sector, such as the first grass press in the Netherlands.