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'Fresh grass delivers on both sides'
Dairy farmer Ron van Puijenbroek saw the prices of soya and rapeseed meal rise and wondered: how can we save on concentrate costs? He immersed himself in summer barn feeding, did the math and took the plunge in 2020. He invested in a Grasstech Grazer and has been adding fresh grass to the stable ever since.
At the family farm of Familie van Puijenbroek in Moergestel (NB), the 180 dairy cows are fed a ration of approximately 50% silage maize. 'So it's best to add some protein. If you're going to see how you express that as much as possible grassland you will of course be the first to arrive at fresh grass. There is nothing more logical, ensilage is actually a 'necessary evil'. Very important for the winter, but silage all year round is also quite a cost item. We were already grazing, so I started calculating with my adviser about feeding fresh grass.'
Ron came up with the system from Future Grass Technology, based in Ireland. The machine runs in the track next to the tractor, mows the grass and loads it directly behind the mower. 'I had seen the machine at colleagues' homes and loved it. We don't have a tractor with a front linkage and the wagon doesn't cut or bruise the grass, but pull it in. So the grass arrives undamaged in front of the feed fence.'
Three years later, Ron's experiences are positive. 'We start grazing as early as possible in the spring, to use the first grass and so that we can stop again in time. We have one house plot, on which we apply New Dutch Weiden. When the grazing becomes more difficult, towards the summer, we switch to stable feeding. That depends on the grass growth. The stable feeding has two benefits: you save contract work because you bring the grass home yourself, and the concentrate dose can be reduced. In the past 2-3 kg of protein supplementation was normal in our case, now you can do that with a lot less.
How do you use the autumn grass at your company?
Roughage specialist Antoon Verhoeven goes through the options in the video:
View the Havera grassland mixtures >
