Feike Tamsma is already averaging 1.4 million litres per year. Alone. However, by combining DeLaval VMS together and Herd Navigator™, he believes that 2 million will soon be possible.
Automation is the future. Of this Feike is convinced: “Automation will happen because farmers are going to have more cows per person – and that’s a challenge.”
Feike practices what he preaches, explaining that he chose DeLaval VMS because of Herd Navigator, an advanced analysis and reporting tool. The advantages of Herd Navigator are many, including how much time it saves: “The system focuses on the cows which need attention, so I don’t have to go searching for them. Since the system finds them, it’s less work for me.”
"The system focuses on the cows which need attention, so I don’t have to go searching for them"
You could say that it’s not a question of working harder, but of working smarter. In other words, by improving herd management it’s possible to improve profitability. This, in a nutshell, is the goal of the DeLaval initiative Smart Farming.
This approach is borne out by the way Feike is developing his farm. Having integrated Herd Navigator with DeLaval VMS he now manages his herd more effectively: “The combination of VMS and Herd Navigator means that cows which need treatment can be separated. And then, when they have been treated, I can then let them go again.
There is no doubting Feike’s conviction concerning future trends. Nor of his confidence in the tools that he needs to make them happen: “Herd Navigator,” he concludes, “is a huge step forward in managing my herd.”
