CL (Coenraad) van Zyl

Curriculum vitae

Coenraad (Coen) van Zyl obtained his MSc Animal Sciences at Wageningen University in 2022. He performed his major thesis at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala on 'The effects of extended suckling in cow-calf contact systems on growth and metabolism of dairy calves'. His research practice was performed at Aarhus University in Denmark, where he worked on a European project, Resilience For Dairy, and focussed on the 'Economic, animal welfare and environmental impacts of solutions implemented by Danish dairy producers for improving resilience in the system'.  

After working as junior researcher on animal health and welfare at Wageningen Livestock Research after his studies, Coen started his PhD project titled 'Cow-calf contact in dairy systems: The impacts on production, animal health, farm economics and the environment' in 2023. His (co-)promotors include Dr Ariëtte van Knegsel, Dr Eddie Bokkers and Prof. Bas Kemp.

Research projects

1. Cow-calf contact in dairy systems: The impacts on production, animal health, farm economics and the environment

• Performed in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden
• Hopes to, through an integrated approach, improve dairy calf rearing and aid farmers and advisors in the transition to cow-calf systems.