‘We noticed straight away that the barn was much calmer’

By automatically pushing feed to the feed fence, dairy farmers can increase their cows’ feed intake and reduce their own workload at the same time. Dairy farmer Wim de Lange from Steenwijkerwold can confirm this wholeheartedly. He and his wife Jeanet installed a Moov 2.0 in their barn in March 2023. ‘It’s a magnificent machine. If we’d known what we know now, we would have bought it much sooner.’

Time for automation

Wim and Jeanet’s dairy farm has 75 dairy cows. They also have 30 hectares of pasture and another 6 hectares on which they grow corn. ‘We took the farm over from my parents in 1996, but they weren’t milking then,’ says Wim. ‘We started with 18 dairy cows and bought a few more each year. We’ve invested in the business over the years, and now we have a thriving dairy farm. We have 75 cows and 50 young stock. We’ve also refurbished the cubicle barn and built a new milking parlour. Considering our ages and the current regulations, we hope to enjoy farming this way for a good few years.’

Pushing feed used to be quite a labour-intensive task. The farm only had one tractor suitable for feeding and pushing because the barn has a narrow feed alley, and Wim did not want to drive a tractor and feed cart through the feed.

He explains: ‘On top of feeding the cows twice a day, we were manually pushing the feed several times a day using the same tractor and a motorised feed belt. But we needed the tractor for other tasks on the farm, which meant constantly hitching and uncoupling it. We initially thought about buying another tractor, but the type we wanted was hard to find and very expensive. That’s how we ended up looking into buying a feed pusher robot.’

Comparing feed pusher robots

During their search for a feed pusher robot, Wim and Jeanet compared a number of different models. They quickly realised that the Moov 2.0 was the best fit for their needs and their barn. ‘We were already familiar with JOZ’s manure scrapers. Our friend has a JOZ slatted floor scraper and speaks highly of it. Obviously, we also wanted to look at products from other manufacturers to help us make the right choice.’

But the Moov 2.0 soon stood out, in part, for its cow-friendly design and the electrically driven drum. ‘The electrically driven drum appealed to me immediately. We already had a hydraulically driven feed belt, and in my experience, feed is distributed more evenly along the feed fence. The robot’s route is determined by transponders in the floor – a feature that other robots didn’t have. Instead, they had end strips on the feed alley, for example, which I thought was a drawback.’

The fact that the Moov 2.0 is also very cow-friendly was also a deciding factor. ‘A cow should want to go to the feed fence willingly and not be afraid of the feed pusher robot. That’s why I dislike the electric shock feature I saw on another robot. JOZ’s design means that this isn’t necessary at all. And the cows’ response to the robot has been very positive. They’re not scared of it, and they’re happy to go to the feed fence.’

Happier cows and higher yields

In the four months since the Moov 2.0 was installed, Wim has seen clear improvements in cow health and milk production. ‘Our cows sometimes had problems with their front legs, but that has already improved. There’s less strain on their front legs because they don’t have to reach as far to get at the feed. And, of course, they also know that feed will always be available, which is good for the lower-ranking cows. On top of that, it’s much calmer in the barn and at the feed fence. We noticed that straight away. One of the added advantages of the calmness is that it makes it easier to tell which cows are in heat.’

Even the cats are happy

And it’s not just the cows that are happy with the new Moov 2.0. Even the cats are enjoying it! ‘I’ll tell you something funny. We have three cats on the farm, and at first, we were worried that they might get in the robot’s way. But it turns out that the cats actually like to perch on top of the Moov and let it drive them up and down the barn. One of them spends about six hours a day on there. Isn’t that lovely?’

More frequent feed pushing without the effort

Wim also tells us that there have already been visible improvements in milk production. ‘Now that we have the Moov 2.0, the cows can eat whenever they want. We’ve already seen a slight increase in milk production, which is a great result.’

However, Wim says the greatest advantage of the robot is the labour-saving aspect. The Moov 2.0 has taken a lot of work off his hands. ‘We feed twice a day, so before, we had to manually push the feed 10 to 15 times a day. Now that pushing is done automatically, we’ve increased the frequency to pushing once an hour for the dairy cows and every two hours for the young stock. And even though the machine is idle for two hours during feeding time, we can still push feed more often without having to do any extra work ourselves.’

He continues: ‘When we want a day off, the machine keeps doing the work for us. That’s given us great peace of mind. We’re able to leave the farm knowing that it’s being taken care of. If we had known what we know now, we would have bought it much sooner.’

Want to know more?

Would you like to find out how the Moov 2.0 can help you in your barn? Contact a JOZ-dealer near you.