At the modern cattle farm Koepon in North Groningen, manager Marcel Rijkers has recently had to deal with a lot of developments. An expansion of the barn, the switch to milking robots, a number of work routines that were overhauled and a herd that is getting older. All this, in combination with separated manure in the boxes, turned out to give an extra risk to udder health and somatic cell count.
He found the solution in the litter for his deep litter boxes; he now combines the separated manure with flax alternative lime. ''This combination gives us a drier and 'looser' product, a nicer bedding in the boxes and it is better for udder health. The job satisfaction of having to treat fewer cows and more milk in the tank is worth a lot to us'', says Rijkers.
Future manure separator in doubt
In fact, Rijkers is so enthusiastic about the new spreading policy that he is questioning his manure separator for the future. "I do expect that it will be a serious consideration whether we invest in a new manure separator at all or whether we switch completely to a lime mixture, as we are now partially doing."
Lime neutralizes environmental bacteria
Litter supplier Berg Fourage sees these kinds of considerations very regularly. On many farms where separated manure is spread, there is an increased somatic cell count with associated risks for udder health. To lower the cell count, they recommend mixing it with a lime litter or even switching completely.
''The lime neutralizes the environmental bacteria that you often find in the boxes with separated manure. With a lime mixture you create a more hygienic lounger, which often causes the cell count to drop considerably. Moreover, you do not impoverish the manure, but enrich it with extra organic matter,'' says product specialist Henry Westerink.
Video report at Koepon
In the video an extensive report on the Koepon Veebedrijf with action shots of the mixing of both litters and the bedding of the boxes. Westerink also tells more about the possibilities of a lime litter with separated manure.
Want to know more about lime litter?
Berg Fourage's forage specialists are happy to help you with the possibilities of various stable bedding. Call 0341-768222 or email sales@bergfourage.nl.