53% less udder infection and 10% more fluid intake within one year

Jamie van 't Hoff runs a dairy farm with his girlfriend Mandy in Babyloniënbroek, Brabant. With 175 dairy cows and 90 head of young stock, they aim for high milk production. Currently, they milk 40 litres per cow per day, and have as much as a BSK of 60.

Cows' skin stayed standing due to moisture deficiency

"I am a real feeder, always concerned with feed and how to optimise it. The animals have to be healthy, that's the most important thing." Jamie begins his story. He had been optimising feed for 3 years, and in the summer Jamie noticed that the cows' skin stayed standing after tightening. That's a sign of not having enough moisture. In addition, the cows drank very little inside, compared to the trough that was outside. "That's where they actually all flew to and drank it empty right away. That was pretty weird." concludes Jamie. So this is where the research into water quality began. "We tested the water, the results of the samples were really shocking. After this, we started looking for a solution to improve the water quality. Our feed consultant then came up with Watter. We started a conversation, we found this interesting so we started running the system."

Significant differences after installation

"After installing the Watter system, we noticed a significant difference very quickly. The water troughs were clean, there was no longer any biofilm in them. We also noticed that the cows started drinking more inside. In fact, from 2 January to 14 August last year, we had no cows with udder infections, and the total in 2023 was 7. By comparison, in 2022 we had as many as 15 cows running with this inflammation, so that progression is really neat." says Jamie. Besides reducing inflammation, water quality has also improved a lot. "The coli's have gone to 0 and the cell count has also gone down. According to the GD, you are allowed to have up to 100 coli's in your water in dairy farms, but of course I just want to be at 0 to minimise the cows' exposure to these bacteria. With Watter, this has been achieved." Previously, van 't Hoff used to clean the water troughs 3x a week, but that too has changed. "The water troughs are now as clean with cleaning once a week as when we cleaned them 3x a week in the past. We have 9 large troughs in the barn, so this is also definitely a saving on water you get in the well."

Water Results D.W. van Mersbergen VOF

10% increase in water intake and reduced cost of antibiotics

"Before the Watter system was installed, we put a water monitor on the main pipe. With this, we measured how much water the cow absorbed. Purchasing the Watter system increased water intake by 10%. With fewer udder infections on the farm, it also saved on antibiotics. When you add all these things together along with the MIA/Vamil scheme, this was a worthwhile investment for us to make." is Jamie's conclusion. "The animals come first and caring for them has to be done in a good, healthy and safe way. If you get your water supply right this way, it's very nice."

Optimising in animal husbandry

"You just want the cows' drinking water to be guaranteed to be good. If there are a lot of E. coli or other bacteria in the water, that also has adverse effects on the cow. You don't see that very quickly then, but through clean water, this can have a positive effect overall. With Watter's system you can guarantee that, I am 100% sure of that" states Jamie. "I also believe that farms of the future should start looking for optimisation in the farm, rather than in herd growth. In this, Watter is a good optimisation for the piece of water within a farm."

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