shown us that the heifers are now doing better; this has now risen to 104–105,” he says with satisfaction.
Benefits in the summer “It was in the summer that we saw the greatest benefits so far. The cows have constant access to fresh feed, so the feed intake and milk yields remain at the right level,” says Ton, not- ing that this is an improvement compared to previous years. Feeding more often also has a positive effect on cow health. “Every month we check pregnancies, at which time the ma- nure is also assessed. We’ve seen an improvement in manure quality (more homogeneous manure). As an added bonus, there are now fewer cystic cows in the grazing period, which is good for fertility.”
Rather be walking among the cows The task of feeding used to be the responsibility of father Anton. He fed the dairy cows once a day, and the dry cows and heifers once every 2–3 days. Less work and more fre- quent feeding were important reasons to move to automatic feeding. “You can of course also feed the cows more often with the feed mixer, but it all takes a lot of time,” says Ton. “We all enjoy the labour savings and flexibility that this system provides! My parents are still fully involved in the farm, but have plenty of time to enjoy the ‘autumn of their years’ and grandchildren. In any case, I’d rather walk among the cows than feed them from a telehandler,” concludes Ton.
The Vector monitors the quantity of feed in front of the feed fence during its feed pushing round and provides extra feed where necessary. “This means the cows always have fresh feed available,” explains Ton Groot Roessink.
▶DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 7, No. 5, 2020 13
Lely’s Vector automatic feeding system.
Ton’s parents Anneke and Anton (left) are also fully in- volved on the farm.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
