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'The cows clearly liked it better'
Roughage specialist Ludwig Oevermans is a guest at the Kroon family dairy farm in the polder north of Heerhugowaard. Livestock farmer Marco talks about his business operations, which are dominated by grass utilisation.
Marco Kroon and his son milk 75 cows and the company has about 32,5 hectares. "The cows do what they feel like: in the summer they are inside a lot during the day, and then go outside at the end of the afternoon. The goal is to get maximum pasture grass in the cows."
Daily grazing
"We also graze on a new plot every day, so they return to the same plot every five days. Basically a kind of one-day detour. You also stimulate the cows to go outside."
Renew grassland
"Every year we rent out land to grow flower bulbs. When it becomes empty in August or September, pasture grass is used again. Havera 4 came on the market, I have always sown it and I actually like it very much. The cows like it and it fits well in my system, so now I always sow Havera," says Kroon.
Mowing management and silage
"This year we mowed very early. We were able to fertilize on time, the grass grew well and the weather was good. The first cut was a bit damper, but the cows eat it well. Because we mowed young, the second cut early in the silage, at the end of May. In the summer we had little downtime of the grass. We also liked that."
Pasture management
"In the spring we will start applying the first manure around March. When it is dry enough, we do that with the manure truck and otherwise with tow bars. With the manure and some fertilizer on it, we will tow meadows. If the weather is nice in April "The cows go outside. Then we make five plots of three-quarters of a hectare and we rotate them. Then we let it grow for a while, we mow it and it goes into the bale. We then feed it to the dry cows in the winter."
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