At Natuurboerderij Hogeboom, nature is very important to them, so they take good care of their environment. Here they have been separating their slurry with a Keydollar Tri-Rod for over 10 years and then the solid fraction can be used to significantly stimulate soil life. Time to size the situation.

The farm of the Hogeboom family in Hasselt, Overijssel is not to be missed. Large bales have been piled up on the road with the words ‘ice cream, meat, and milk on tap displayed on them. Farmer Gerrit and his Saint Bernard come to meet us. “Good morning, we’re going to have coffee with the neighbours across the street,” he says, pointing to the chalet where he lives.

‘Welcome to our nature farm in Hasselt” Gerrit starts the conversation again. ‘We have 120 hectares of land here, 60 cows for the milk, 70 Galloway’s, and 120 sheep for the meat. We simply sell part of the milk here from the yard from our own milk tap. That idea came from our vet. He once joked that the cell count here was so low that we could also sell the milk at home. We now sell milk, meat, cheese, ice cream from our own milk and various beers made from local raw materials in our farm shop’.

‘About ten years ago we started separating slurry with a Keydollar Tri-Rod. The reason for this was that Staatsbosbeheer came up with the rule that we were only allowed to spread solid manure on our natural meadows to stimulate and promote soil life. For example, we have been supplying manure to Staatsbosbeheer for years and about 8 hectares of lapwing flowers have now been added. This all has to do with the solid manure. Everything we throw in front of the feed fences goes through the cow, into the pit, and through the Keydollar Tri-Rod. Then all that manure goes over the land where the seeds can grow again. If you pass the manure through the Keydollar Tri-Rod, you will get a really nice dry and growing product. This results in an enormous amount of soil life. The worms make the roots stronger and the birds can eat again. That’s just fantastic!’ says Gerrit with a big smile.

‘A good soil life is not only important for the worms, meadow birds, and the flowers, but also for the farmer and his cows.

‘A good soil life is not only important for the worms, meadow birds, and the flowers, but also for the farmer and his cows. This allows my cows to graze for much longer because the carrying capacity and structure of the land is much better. This is all because the roots are very strong in these countries’.

To the question of whether the structure of the manure is also different, his son Hendo answers: ‘There is indeed a difference in the manure. We do not feed concentrates or other by-products to our cows. Only grass is fed. Everything is already there, so we don’t need any extra additions’ his father adds.

‘We certainly recommend the use of solid manure to promote soil life to other dairy farmers. Your soil is perhaps the most important part of the entire farm. If that’s okay, you don’t need fertilizer anymore. A good soil ensures that your cow gets the best quality grass’.

‘This process actually starts with the Keydollar Tri-Rod, or well, it is a big part of it’ Gerrit emphasizes again.

After reading this Boer On Tour, did you become interested in separating slurry to stimulate soil life?

Or call +31 (0)514 593562 and get in touch with the Keydollar Team.

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