‘We just want to hear a simple yes or no’

JOZ is growing fast. Thanks to our innovative nature and global ambitions, we continuously see opportunities to meet the challenges of today and the future. CEO Arend Kuperus shares his thoughts on current events and talks about developments.

‘JOZ is already 75 years old this year,’ Arend begins proudly. ‘It’s nice to see that an awful lot has changed in recent years, but that we have also stayed true to ourselves. We are becoming more and more international, working with state-of-the-art technology and growing rapidly. But who we are fundamentally has never changed. The needs of the farmer and the animals are the primary focus, always. That is what we all continue to strive for. And that is also palpable in our organisation and among our employees.’

Biogrow: officially fertiliser yes or no?

Arend illustrates the combative nature through an example. ‘To help farmers reduce their nitrogen emissions, we have developed the Gazoo nitrogen cracker. A wonderful innovation, but we want to go one step further. Together with a cattle farmer who uses the Gazoo, we are now battling for an official court ruling to classify Biogrow as fertiliser. Indeed, the captured ammonia released by the nitrogen cracker, Biogrow, meets all the conditions for fertiliser, but is not currently allowed to be recorded as such in your manure accounts.’

‘So far, the court has failed to give us a ruling on three occasions, but we are not content with that. We just want to hear a simple yes or no. So we will continue our efforts and hopefully I can bring positive news about this soon.’

Measuring emissions with Clean Climate Lab

Following on from this, Arend also thinks it is important for businesses to be able to demonstrate for themselves what their emissions are on their farms. ‘Measuring at the individual level, that’s our vision. Don’t just go by a Rav code, because every barn is different.’

JOZ has therefore developed Clean Climate Lab. A measuring station that uses sensors in the barn to take measurements of emissions, humidity and temperature every 10 minutes. ‘This gives farmers the data they need to prove exactly what the situation is on their farms. In addition, it is of course a perfect management system that offers insights to optimise your barn and improve cow comfort. In this way, we continue to think along and provide solutions that benefit both businesses and the government.’

TMR system introduction

Besides nitrogen-reducing solutions, JOZ is also not sitting still when it comes to robotisation. For example, the board has been expanded to include a CTO and there is a new head of the Research & Development department who is focusing on the introduction of a TMR system. ‘This is a machine that is electrically powered and will operate without a kitchen. So, this solution will automatically feed for you. A great new innovation that makes feeding even easier.’

In addition, a new version of the Barn-E manure robot is being developed and we are working on a solution that captures methane and converts it into energy. ‘I can’t say too much about that at the moment, but we are certainly not standing still.’

Growing pains

Growing fast is nice, but it can also result in growing pains, Arend acknowledges. ‘We still face challenges in the supply chain area, something that is affecting multiple sectors. And we obviously need more colleagues to build the company with us. Finding good, enthusiastic people is quite a challenge in the current employment market.’

‘So, this is a call to anyone whose heart is in the agricultural sector, we’d love to hear from you. We have vacancies for some great positions, including at Fullwood JOZ, which focuses specifically on dairy farming. I therefore cordially invite you to engage with us on what your role can be within our organisations.’

Would you like to work with us?

Want to know more about working at JOZ or Fullwood JOZ? View the vacancies or Fullwood JOZ’s working at website and contact us if you are interested.