Improved water and happy cows thanks to Watter system

Maatschap Leijenaar has 140 dairy cows and 70 young stock. From an early age, Jelte knew: he was going to be a farmer. His grandfather was the founder of the farm and the family still lives in the same house in Sneek. The farm is in the middle of nature, yet close to the city. His parents run a nice campsite next to the farm. This beautiful property is located by the water, which in turn is connected to the Sneekermeer lake. From 1 April to 1 October, guests can enjoy the peace and quiet here and have the option of supping, renting a boat or fishing. Jelte runs the dairy farm together with his parents and when building the new barn, they encountered quite a few piping problems.

Water problems on livestock farm

Because of the new barn built in 2015 and commissioned in 2017, new systems also had to be put in place. The pipes in the new barn are a bit longer than in the old barn, and this resulted in stagnant water. "The water had to keep flowing, otherwise it became brown, viscous and dirty," states Jelte. He also noticed change in the cows. "At one point, the ladies almost stopped giving milk." In consultation with the vet came the advice to have the water checked. "Even then we had the feeling that something was not quite right," Leijenaar says. It turned out that the tylene pipes were porous and these had become completely filled with biofilm. As a result, the troughs were dirty all the time. "You had to clean these every 2 or 3 days, otherwise they were really filthy," says the livestock farmer.

Nice story, but the system also paid off

The dairy farm had to look for a solution. They searched around a bit when they came across Watter. Jelte's cousins from Tirns already had a Watter system and were very enthusiastic about it. There were also some colleagues in the area who had a good experience with the system. "That naturally made me enthusiastic myself. I thought: let's give it a try. "The consultant from Watter had a great story, but it all proved true, so we bought the system."

Improvement in the water

As time passed, the water got better and better. It was fresher and the tanks were cleaner. "The dirty layer that was in there is thankfully gone," he says. Recently, Jelte also started supplementing carbon. "The digestion in the intestines was not super. The manure was often watery with lumps in it. We were nattering on for a while, but at a certain point you don't know what it's due to either. Via-via I was then advised to add carbon. This also worked well for others," explains the dairy farmer. The carbon combined with the clean water improved feed intake. "Last winter, we milked well. We never milk thick in litres, but we have had high contents lately. At the moment, things are going very well and I am happy with that."

Water improvement results

The advice for other farmers is therefore also to check the water quality through water samples. Always take these water samples at the place where the cow is drinking. In the diagram, you can see that the water of cattle farm Leijenaar has improved significantly within a month and a half since using the Watter system.

Water results Leijenaar 

Don't let the bad water linger on

Jelte states that although he found the Watter system an investment, he is very satisfied with the results. If he could give advice to other livestock farmers, it would be about water quality. "You shouldn't let it linger, if you think something is wrong, you should raise the alarm immediately. This was the same story for us." He feels that water is an underestimated problem. "Because of this machine, you can be sure you have clean water," he states. Leijenaar also has plans lying ahead for a drinking water supply in the pasture. "Now the cows drink from the ditch and you have no control over that. You never know what's in it. With the facility, I have much more control over that."

As a livestock farmer, you can benefit from the MIA/Vamil scheme in 2023 on investments that are good for the environment. This scheme also applies to the investment of the Watter system. Would you like to know what we have to offer for you? Then contact us without obligation.