"Clean drinking water has been contributing to the wellbeing of the cows for years."
Hidden in the north of Ost-Friesland, dairy farmers Alfred and Marinus Stavenga sway the scepter over a farm with 450 cows and 400 hectares of land. Despite the help of family and co-workers, such a farm requires a lot of oversight to run it properly. According to the emigrants, it is essential to support the cow in her natural well-being: invest in health and production will follow naturally.
"It's not that we've set out to build a big business, but when the opportunities for growth are offered and the work is fun, as entrepreneurs you don't fail to do that," Alfred says, "In doing so, we think it's important to look at each step to see how we can improve and adapt."
Water in the trough requires the right approach
One of these adjustments is the drinking water on the farm. "It is very easy to assume that the water is fine. However, we have had both tap water and well water here, but the quality left much to be desired. We made sure that water samples were taken every year. Despite adjustments such as a de-ironer, the germination pressure remained too high. The result was disappointing fertility, among other things, and that forced us to take action."
Initially, the dairy farmers started with chemical products, but that did not bring them the desired solution: "It was not a friendly product, you have to drag it around a lot and in the long run it costs a lot of money. We were more interested in a structural solution, so when we were informed about the Watter system, it immediately sparked our interest."
Clear results with Watter
The Watter system is a device that produces a safe and effective disinfectant from water and salt by means of electrolysis. Via dosage pumps this is continuously dosed to the water, which ensures that bacteria and biofilm are broken down and cannot attach again. For dairy farmers, the effect is visible in the drinking troughs, as it is for the Stavenga family: "What is noticeable is that the green deposits and algae in the drinking troughs have disappeared. The slime layer on the edge of the trough has also disappeared; I didn't even realize that this was biofilm. I was under the impression that this was from the saliva of the cows."
Meanwhile, the system has been on the dairy farm in Hagermarsch for more than five years. "We are very happy with it. Water is a very important component on a dairy farm and I think it is often underestimated. However, we clearly notice that it contributes to the health and thus the well-being of the cow. With that, it forms the basis for all the things that are involved, such as higher production."
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