De Saegher Dairy In 15 years Bart and Els De Saegher expanded their dairy unit to 10,000 cows. Today they focus on even the smallest detail to ensure that their herd produces milk as efficiently as possible.
Good staff working conditions are key to the success of Bart and Els De Saegher’s dairy unit. So preparing rations and calf feeding are both carried out under one roof. text Jaap van der Knaap
Middleton
T
here is a striking square building at Bart and Els De Saegher’s unit, based at Middleton in the US. It is not exactly picturesque with the white sheet piling on all sides and the flat roof. But it is an example of how dairy producers work down to the last detail to achieve extremely efficient milk production. “This building is a feed barn where we bring all the raw materials for the rations together and then load them into the mixer wagons. After we started using the barn in 2009, feed waste fell by 2%. We spend $12 million on feed every year, so in just two years we had recovered the cost of the new building.”
Mixer wagon Bart explains what led him to invest in this building. “In 2009, feed prices in the US were extremely high and it irritated me that when staff went with their shovels from the silage pit to the feed mixer wagon they spilt so much of that expensive feed. “Things had to change and become more efficient and I also had to ensure that the staff enjoyed their work and were able to work easily and as quickly as possible.” So Bart had low and side-tipping trailers built, allowing maize and alfalfa silage to be quickly loaded and unloaded. Every day staff drive a number of these trailers, filled with maize and alfalfa silage, from the bunker silos to the feed barn, after which the exact quantities of feed are loaded into the mixer wagons. In the feed barn the various types of feed concentrate are stored in large silos, so that all the feed is close together. Bart points out that the mixer wagon is 60cm lower than the working platform.
“Due to this position, the drivers have a better view of what they are doing and the margin of error when loading has been halved from 2% to 1%. By providing a good working environment for the staff, I have also noticed that they perform better.”
Working conditions The creation of good working conditions is a common thread running through Bart’s story – it’s one that started in Flanders, where until 2000 he milked 60 cows on 25 hectares. But there was not much room left for expansion there. Together with his wife, Els, he exchanged Leffinge for Middleton, in the US, where, on a 50-hectare site with a few livestock buildings, there was room for 200 cows. “We chose the state of Michigan because this is a real arable farming area. I am a cow man and I saw opportunities to make agreements here with other people to grow the feed for me.” Bart started with 30 cows and after a few months the number had increased to more than 200. The money earned was immediately invested in cows and cow housing, so that in 2004 as many as 1,500 cows were going through the milking parlour. “We have always grown in small but deliberate steps. Back then I wanted to be able to retain close control of all the processes of running a dairy unit myself,” says Bart. During the past few years it doesn’t seem to be a matter of taking small steps any more. The law changed in the county and producers are now permitted to keep a maximum of 3,500 cows and this meant that other dairy sites were purchased that were then expanded.
US
Herd size: Average yield (litres): Unit size: Employees:
10,000 head 10,800 3.65% fat 3.10% prot. 1,800 hectares 130
“Thanks to the high milk price we grew considerably in 2014. We were able to expand the unit in Elsie from 700 to 3,500 cows and the unit was further optimised with space for 1,500 dry cows. We were also able to buy a working unit in South Michigan that we expanded to 2,000 cows, so we are now milking a total of around 10,000 cows.”
People manager It is impressive to see just how much attention Bart pays to detail when managing such a large number of cows. He has had 100 metres of fencing installed around the large silos because badgers were making holes in the plastic. “We invest a lot in growing and harvesting good feed and so you don’t then want it to be ruined by overheating.” And also take the process of unloading feed from the silo: “When unloading all the loose corn must be scooped up, so the cutting edge must be tightly machined and we operate a minimum feed-out rate per day of 30cm in order to avoid over-heating.” On a walk through the barns he picks up a piece of plastic that he finds on the feed alley. “Every day I walk two or three times through all the barns, I talk to the staff and point out a sick cow or a cow in heat. “Some people might consider that to be
From left to right: – There’s less waste thanks to a new feeding system – The youngest calves are no longer housed in outdoor igloos – The seven calf houses each comprise 120 calf places – Bart and Els De Saeger emigrated to the US 15 years ago
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18-06-15 10:50