Unique auger feed system cuts labour costs
As dairy farmers gear-up for winter feeding a north Yorkshire family will once again be making the most of a system that not only achieves big savings on labour, but significantly cuts running costs by swapping diesel for electricity.
At the flick of a switch, the Rushton family from Hammerton Hall Farm, Wigglesworth, Settle, can trigger the workings of a large, static feed mixer that mixes ingredients and “augers” daily rations to the family’s herd of 125 cows. The only tractor work involves loading the mixer bin once a day.
With a long-term plan to increase to about 175 cows, the herd has not only embraced technology through the static mixer – believed to be the only one of its kind in the UK – but has also installed two robot milkers.
The Cormall feeder, manufactured in Denmark and supplied by Tim Gibson of Bedale, north Yorkshire, has been operating for four years. It has a capacity of 5.5 tonnes and feeds the cows in “loads” of about one-tonne at a time. The one-tonne mix is augered into the feed troughs in the cubicle house and is sufficient to provide feed for the herd for about four hours.
The twin-auger feed bin is tilted at a 40° angle to save energy during mixing. It’s filled once a day with the auger running to achieve the best mix of the ingredients.
“There are times of the day when the troughs are empty, but that doesn’t create any problems caused by cows rushing forward when the troughs are re-filled. The system is currently programmed to deliver feed at approximately four-hourly intervals during the day, but we can operate it manually if we need to,” says Craig Rushton.
He’s convinced cows benefit from this approach to feeding. “Cows look really well. They never have stale food and aren’t forced to eat feed that’s been picked over by other cows because it’s been there all day. The system ensures that cows regularly have a load of fresh feed in front of them – and that’s got to be a good thing in terms of the quality of the feed and its nutritional value.”
The static mixer uses two 15KW motors to mix the ration and a 15KW and 4KW motor to auger the feed to the cows. At four feeds per day that equates to a cost of 25p per feed – £1 per day in electricity. If feed was delivered to the cows conventionally using tractor power it’s estimated the cost would be around £8.
The Cormall static feeder currently costs between £35,000-£45,000 depending on its installation individual farm situations.
Rob Cockcroft of Ontraknutrition oversees the herd’s management and feeding. He says the auger feed system and the robot milkers compliment each other.
“The herd is averaging 9000 litres and can now be milked on demand. Fresh feed is being offered to cows throughout the day so it’s a system that’s providing a very high standard of welfare because cows aren’t restricted to a fixed routine of milking and feeding times.
“And there’s the added bonus of freeing up labour and reducing costs – the two big issues affecting the profitability of milk production.”
Craig travelled to Denmark to see the Cormall static feed mixer after considering building his own conveyor-belt system for feeding the herd.
“We saw several systems working in Denmark where buildings had no central feed passage and feed was being delivered to cows up to 10 times a day – the feed was always fresh in front of them and keeping the cows active.
The Rushtons are feeding a diet of grass silage, Trafford Gold and a balancer meal which was giving 25 litres last winter. Robots are feeding up to 8.5kg of concentrate during the average 2.6 visits made per day by each cow.
“Uneven milking was causing a problem when we were milking through the parlour which is why we considered robots. It’s no longer an issue.
“You’ve still got to be aware of the cows that aren’t coming to the robots as often as they should and find out why. But, equally, there are cows in the herd that you never see because they just get on with it and never show up on the action list,” says Craig, who used to spend up to seven-and-a-half hours a day in the parlour.
“The feeding system and the robots both work on the same principal. There’s always a milking machine ready to take milk off them and there’s a regular supply of fresh food on offer throughout the day. We’ve totally mechanised the management of the herd and although it means less labour for us, it’s far better for the cows.”