"If the farmer is good to his cows, then the cows are good to the farmer"
"If the farmer is good to his cows, then the cows are good to the farmer"
Eric Zeegers is a real 'cow's farmer' and for him the welfare of his herd always is paramount. In 1998, together with his neighbour Theo Zeegers, he built up his farm from scratch: introducing a new barn for 60 cattle and a new Astronaut milking robot. 'Thanks to the milking robot I was able to retain my job as consultant for the Roba company in Deurne', says Eric. Every morning he spends around an hour on work related to the dairy cattle, and another two hours in the evening. Theo is responsible for feeding the cows and in addition he breeds the young livestock.
From the beginning Eric faced a particular problem with the cowshed: slippery flooring (slatted floor). Cows fell regularly, sometimes even resulting in premature loss. In 2003 Eric had the floor roughened. Unfortunately, this procedure only provided a temporary solution, as just a year and a half later the effect had worn off. In June 2005 Eric decided to fit a Compedes rubber matting on the floors of the walking alleys in his barn: 'Everywhere, even in the robot!' Over the course of two Saturdays the dairy farmer and an assistant installed the Compedes floor matting. 'It was pretty easy', explains Eric, 'the mats are loose on the floor and they stay in place thanks to a so-called jigsaw connection. The mats remain in place within their rigid pattern as a result of their own weight.'
When we ask what he thinks of the Compedes rubber floor, the dairy farmer replies simply: 'Really you should interview the cows ...'. Eric has seen a clear progress in the way his cows walk. His cows now show the same behaviour in the barn as they do out in the field. By way of example, Eric refers to cows licking between their rear legs, which compels the cow to stand on three legs. Also, cows in heat are not afraid to demonstrate something of their natural behaviour again. The cows walk across the matting with ease and assurance, and cows that have recently calved are more quickly reunited with the herd. As well as this, Eric has noticed better growth of the cows' hoofs: the outer edges grow faster and look healthier. Neither has Eric come across any cows doing 'the splits'. He concludes: 'If I can save just a few cows due to the new matting, this investment is paid back rapidly!'
Milk production has also improved. Before the installation of the Compedes rubber floor matting, the visiting pattern for the milking robot stopped at an average level of less than 2,3 milkings at a production level of 8,200 kg per cow/per year. However, if we look at the current management programme of the milking robot, we see an average visiting pattern of 2,6 and an average milking production of 9,200 kg per cow/per year! 'Before the new floor was installed, the cows didn't dare walk properly. Not only did this affect the number of visits to the robot, but in addition there was an increase of rumen problems as the cows weren't going often enough to the feed fence.'
As we take one last look at the herd, the dairy farmer points out the Luna cow brush under which a cow is evidently enjoying a massage. 'Every investment in animal wellbeing pays itself back fairly quickly!'