Mts. Breeuwsma-van der Valk
Company details
Type of company
Dairy farm
Number of dairy cows
240
Manure separator
Agri-XL
At Mts. Breeuwsma-van der Valk from Nijland (Friesland) four months ago Slurry Technology installed a Keydollar Agri-XL manure separator. ‘ For years, a company has come here to scatter Bio-Bedding for us. It was high time to take control of a manure separator. ‘
When you drive from Sneek to Bolsward on the highway and look right over the meadows, the new stable of the Breeuwsma-van der Valk family is not to be missed. Once off the highway, having driven through the village of Nijland, you will soon find the farm of Breeuwsma. First, you are met by a German Shepherd and soon son Pieter arrives. ‘Good afternoon, my father will be here shortly, he is still a little busy. Take a look at the manure separator,’ says the young worker. Arriving at the manure separator, father Henk-Jan is soon there too.
Dairy farmer Henk-Jan contacted Slurry Technology for the first time in the summer of 2021 to buy a Keydollar Agri-XL manure separator. The Keydollar manure separator has now been running for four months behind the barn that was added in 2015, with the dairy farm now providing space for 240 dairy cows and 60 young stock.
‘This farm has been around for generations. From great-grandfather to one of my sons in the future. This dairy farm will therefore remain in the family for some time to come’, Henk-Jan says with a wink. In the morning my wife and I milk together and in the evening one of my sons milks with me. The entire family is involved in the existence of this generations-old farm,’ says the farmer.
‘We chose the Keydollar Agri-XL because we would like to manage the box litter ourselves. We always had the Bio-Bedding scattered by another company, which used a different brand of separator. The disadvantage of having it scattered is that the costs are enormous. In addition, you are always dependent on their schedule at busy times of the season. Also, the bedding of this company was not quite as desired, as it was not dry enough. This resulted in sticky boxes and dirty cows. Especially around the cow’s udder, it was often filthy. When milking, you therefore always needed a lot more work to clean the udders,’ recounts Henk-Jan.
‘We had seen, though, that we didn’t want that machine to separate.’
‘The Keydollar Agri-XL is a beautiful, simple and user-friendly machine, with the valves kept under tension with air. The company that always came to scatter here had a manure separator that had to be kept under tension with weights. We had seen, though, that we didn’t want that machine to separate. Because every time the machine went off or something else was wrong with it, which then had to do with those weights again.’
‘Fortunately, the Keydollar manure separator does not have these problems and the machine always keeps the Bio-Bedding at the right dryness. This morning we first mixed for 15 minutes. Press the on button of the manure separator and it will start to rotate. I have set the correct dryness via the screen that hangs on the outside of the bunker. This way I don’t have to touch anything with my tools anymore. That is the biggest advantage of this machine. It saves itself, that’s just perfect!’
For example, if you don’t have a good mattress, you will also be less productive the next day.
‘I also thought about rubber mats, but they also wear out at some point. To prevent wear and tear, you can sprinkle sawdust over it, but with extremely humid weather the mats will become slippery again. You can sprinkle lime over it again, but then you’ll stay busy. With Bio-Bedding, our cows always have a good grip in the stalls in all weather conditions when they want to lie down or get up. So no cow ever slips in the barn here. In addition, the cows suffer much less from thick heels and udder infections. The animal can lie down however it feels most comfortable. After all, the longer a cow lies down to ruminate, the more milk she will produce. For example, if you don’t have a good mattress, you will also be less productive the next day. This works the same in the barn with a cow,’ the farmer from Nijland points out.
After reading this Farmer on Tour, are you also curious about the many advantages of manure separation at your business?
No longer want to depend on other businesses coming in to scatter far too expensively?
Then, like the Breeuwsma-van der Valk family, contact Keydollar! Call +31 (0)514 593562 now for more information!
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Would you wish to know more about what Keydollar can mean for you or what the advantages of manure separation can bring you? Fill in the contact form below or call for advice without further obligations from one of our advisors on +31 (0)514 593562