Roughage tour Hans Schoenmakers
'There is not a hectare of land for rent here for grass or maize'
Organized for the third year in a row Boerenbusiness the Roughage Tour. Also this year we are following 10 dairy farmers throughout the Netherlands in their decisions regarding the extraction of roughage. In this series of company reports we introduce the entrepreneurs. In the eighth part Hans Schoenmakers from Udenhout (NB)
From the road, which also forms the border between the city of Tilburg and the village of Udenhout, Schoenmakers' company is hardly noticeable. The De Brand nature reserve is adjacent to the village, but the Loonse and Drunense Duinen area also forms the backdrop for Udenhout. For Schoenmakers, the environment is not the most ideal environment. Surrounded by the nature reserves, there is also competition for land, as he himself says: "there are no more hectares of land to rent here". Much of the land goes to tree nurseries who come up with prices that dairy farmers cannot compete with.
Schoenmakers also sees that livestock farming in his area is thinning out. "In the past there were ten mixed companies here in the street. Nowadays I am alone here and there are a few more a little further down the road". For the rest, the area is still fairly diverse with a number of arable, pig, dairy and poultry farms. Schoenmakers is sometimes concerned about how the agricultural sector - in which he works with great passion and dedication - is now and then put pressure on the freedom of entrepreneurship. "Due to the uncertainty, it is difficult to do business in the future and it is always questionable whether you are making the right choice".
Hans Schoenmakers keeps 117 dairy cows with 35 heifers and 40 calves. A total of 40 hectares are cultivated, of which 32 hectares are grass, 6 hectares silage maize and 2 hectares fodder beets. The soil type on the farm is largely sandy soil with a portion of loamy sand. Last year's corn pick was LG 31.219. For this year LG 31.206 has been chosen for the loamy soil and LG 31.219 for the lighter sandy soil. The production of the dairy cows is 10.500 liters of milk with 4,60% fat and 3,60% protein.
Special feeding system
Hans Schoenmakers is proud of his company and is careful with it. The first part of the free stall barn was built in 1976. This was a 6-row barn with no feeding alley. Behind the barn were three silos, from which the cows extracted the feed themselves. Two silos were used for grass and one for maize. "Because the feeding system was quite special, Wageningen UR carried out studies at the time to monitor the peaceful behavior of our cows". In 1985 a silo was removed and a feeding alley plus 1 row of cubicles was added. "There were quite a few advantages that the cows got the feed from the silage themselves, but there were also disadvantages. For example, the cows had to get the fodder outside due to wind and weather. There was a lot of manure and urine in front of the silos. You also saw a clear difference in the eating behavior between the cows. One ate much more maize, another less. As a result, some cows became too fat and others too skinny. This was a reason to build a feeding alley."
In 2007 there was a change in business operations. The breeding sows were then disposed of and the existing cow shed was expanded on the site of the pigsty. In 2008 the number of cows doubled. In 2021, the switch was made from 2 x 6 herringbone milking parlor to two used GEA robots. Schoenmakers is so far satisfied with this and happy with the purchase "cows that need it can now be milked an extra time. It is also a relief for me in my workload".
'I'd rather have an ordinary heifer from myself than a good one from others'
Schoenmakers likes to talk about the development of his dairy herd. "Traditionally we had an MRIJ herd. Later I started breeding for the red-and-white HF cows and we also tried some incrossing. Nowadays I only use black-and-white HF bulls, with the focus being mainly on udder and feet and legs. legs in particular is a point of attention for me. It is now reasonably good, but still needs to be improved", Schoenmakers summarizes his breeding goals. Schoenmakers' milk is supplied to FrieslandCampina and ABZ animal feed is fed: "Partly due to mergers of local compound feed companies, we came to ABZ. I am not someone who switches quickly, as long as the price/quality ratio is good".
In terms of roughage cultivation and agricultural work, most of the work is outsourced to agricultural contractors. The tedding and raking is done by Hans himself and usually he helps with the mowing by doing the smaller plots himself. In addition to maize and grass, Schoenmakers has also been growing fodder beets for a number of years. "Together with two other dairy farmers in the area, we harvest the beets in stages. Usually for a period of two to three weeks. A colleague from the neighborhood has a harvester in front of the tractor, which he then uses to visit the farmers. Sometimes we will harvest until March." Schoenmakers has a chipping tray that cleans and shreds the beets for feeding the beets.
Ronald Smit
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