When your herd is in the 100-200 cow range, there are a number of ways to develop. One is to radically step-up scale and begin employing milkers. Another approach is to grow slowly, but to find smarter ways to work.
Husband and wife team Bert and Monique Middag run a family farm with 140 milking cows. Having decided not to take on employees, they have invested in automatic equipment such as DeLaval VMS and Herd Navigator™.
“I think you need less cows for your quota, so you can earn money with Herd Navigator”
“We’ve chosen Herd Navigator because if you want to survive you have to grow,” says Monique Middag. “I’m convinced that the more cattle you have, the more difficult it is to look after each individual cow: you need extra equipment for that, and Herd Navigator fits this need very well.”
Her husband, Bert Middag, appreciates what Herd Navigator means for the profitability of the farm: “We think it’s the tool of the future because at an earlier stage you can help prevent cows from getting sick. I think you need less cows for your quota, so you can earn money with Herd Navigator.”
Monique adds: “When we started with Herd Navigator we had several cows with subclinical ketosis. We were surprised that we didn’t know about this, and therefore we changed the feed. At the moment, we don’t have any clinical or subclinical ketosis.”
The Middags have found Herd Navigator easy to use: it takes just ten minutes at the computer in the evening and in the morning to check for any alarms.
“We hoped that our job satisfaction would increase, and it has,” says Monique. “It sounds a little strange, but you get used to Herd Navigator really fast and I can’t imagine working without it anymore.”
The automation of routines has made a real difference to their working and private lives: “I think it improves your life because you have more spare time for your family. But it also improves the quality of your farming and your management,” Monique concludes.
