‘Torro separator creates the ideal bedding’

Jan Steegink has been familiar with life on a farm since he was little, as he grew up on a farm in Okkenbroek which he later took over from his father. He runs the farm with his wife and son. Jan is also a jury member at inspections, and the Steegink family breeds cows. This has won them multiple prizes, including the general championship at the Holland Holstein Show recently. Jan therefore knows better than anyone what a healthy cow looks like. ‘Soft, dry bedding is important,’ he says.

Simple and solid

At one of the inspections Jan and his son Thomas visited, they learned about the Torro separator. ‘We bumped into Marcel and Matt van der Eijk,’ Jan explains. ‘The very first Torro was in use in at their farm, and they were really enthusiastic about it.’

‘The Torro is a simple but solid machine,’ says Jan. ‘It just needs a single press of a button to get it up and running. It also takes up hardly any space, because it’s partly suspended above the manure pit. It was a real revelation for me. In the past, we sometimes rented a manure separator from an agricultural contractor, but that always meant a lot of hassle with all kinds of connections before we could even get started…’

Soft, dry box litter

‘Getting your box litter nice and soft is an art,’ says Jan. ‘Separated manure is extremely suitable. It’s not too loose but stays in place well, so that the cows can grip well and don’t slip.’

‘The Torro separator actually provides the ideal bedding,’ he continues. ‘That in itself is important, because the more comfortable it is for cows to lie on bedding, the more time they spend lying down and the more milk they produce. The cows also no longer suffer pressure sores, because their legs are relieved well by the soft bedding. And because biobedding is applied in layers, it doesn’t start fermenting. All these factors are good for cow health.’

Biobedding capacity

Jan says that the capacity of the separator is impressive. ‘If the separator is on for 1 day, we immediately get a considerable stock of biobedding in the pit,’ he says.

‘The amount of the solid fraction produced by the separator does depend on what we feed. Our cows mainly get grass, along with some maize. This results in less solid fraction than, for example, silage and roughage, so it’s a matter of making choices. We prefer slightly less biobedding, because we want them to get enough grass.’

‘The product made by the Torro is nice and dry’, Jan continues. ‘You can set how dry you want it to be with an app, enabling you to see what works best for you. It also depends on the weather, which is helpful. In the summer when the wind blows, we can leave the product a little moister. It dries by itself and gives us a higher yield of solid fraction. The app is also useful if you want to see how much power the machine consumes. Another advantage, because I’m glad to say it doesn’t use much at all.’

More info?

Interested in finding out if a Torro separator would also be a good addition to your farm? Contact a dealer near you.