‘This is the very time farmers need us most’

2022: a tumultuous year. A year in which livestock farmers faced a tough nitrogen policy, and a year in which JOZ made great strides forward. ‘Because this is the very time farmers need us most,’ says Arend Kuperus, CEO of JOZ. He talks about the innovation highlights of 2022, and what we can expect from JOZ in this area next year. Read on to find out more.

Innovations that deserve awards

One of the absolute highlights of 2022? The roll-out of the Gazoo nitrogen cracker. ‘There are already 8 nitrogen crackers currently in use on farms,’ says Arend. ‘That’s great news, because the Gazoo reduces nitrogen more than any of the other machines available on the market right now.’

JOZ was rightly nominated for various innovation awards in 2022, including Boerenbusiness’ Agribusiness Award and a place in the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation Top 100. JOZ even won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Public Award. ‘I’m delighted that the business community has recognised the added value of our innovations,’ says Arend proudly. ‘And that we’ve been making the work on livestock farms in more than 30 countries easier, more animal-friendly and cleaner for 70 years.’

What are politicians doing?

The nitrogen cracker is a product that meets all the requirements of a livestock farmer. ‘However, before investing in such as system, a farmer needs to know if politicians will accept innovations as a solution to the nitrogen problem,’ explains Arend. ‘It’s now up to the central government in The Hague to give the green light, so that we can help lots more farmers to reduce nitrogen emissions.’

Arend considers that the probability of this happening to be high. ‘Minister Adema wants to allow innovations, so I’m assuming they will play a major role. But the question remains: how will it be enforced? I think that this enforcement will become extremely important, and that even more will be asked of farmers in this area. That’s because I believe livestock farmers will be responsible for the burden of proof.’

Real-time sensor measurements

What does it mean in practice for a farmer if they become responsible for that burden of proof? ‘Each farmer will have to be able to show exactly how much nitrogen their farm emits,’ explains Arend. ‘At the moment, this is quite a complicated matter and based on all kinds of calculations. For this reason, JOZ decided to develop a solution to help. It involves smart sensors which can precisely measure these kinds of emissions.’

The sensors move through the cowshed every 5 minutes on a type of rail and record data. This data is then sent automatically to the cloud, so that the farmer can check their figures at any time. ‘So, real-time measurements with sensors,’ says Arend. ‘This data could show that nitrogen emissions are higher in certain parts of the cowshed because cows eat a protein-rich product there, for example. Finding out the exact effect of feed on emissions is one way of making targeted adjustments to improve the situation.’

JOZ expects to launch the sensor system in January 2023.

Fullwood JOZ

2022 marked another important milestone for JOZ. In June, we took over international company Fullwood. This acquisition led to a new brand being created alongside JOZ; Fullwood JOZ. ‘With Fullwood JOZ, we supply fully integrated milking solutions,’ says Arend. ‘It’s a useful addition to our already comprehensive range.’

‘We’ll also be investing heavily in product innovation for Fullwood JOZ in the coming years,’ continues Arend. ‘For example, developments related to data collection and sensors are extremely interesting for this company. JOZ and Fullwood JOZ therefore complement each other really well. As an added bonus, we’re now even more of a one-stop-shop for our customers.’

We’re working on opening new sites, such as at the Agriport business park in Middenmeer. ‘We expect the first milking robots to roll off the assembly line here in January,’ says Arend. ‘We’ll be opening various new sites shortly, which will enable us to double robot production.’

New products in 2023

And on the subject of booming numbers… We also produced a record number of our manure robots in 2022. ‘There’s a massive demand for them, so production increased by some 30 to 40%.

And, of course, we’re continuing to develop in every area,’ adds Arend. ‘Our goal is to ensure our products carry on meeting the needs of farmers perfectly, and that our processes both in front of and behind the feed fence become more efficient. You can therefore expect a new, smaller manure robot from us in Q2 2023. It will be just as strong as any other, but a lot more agile. We’re also working on a new feeding robot, and expect to launch a spreading robot in the Q4 2023.’

More info?

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