This Feeder was purchased at the end of 2016 for Spring 2017. Now having completed its first full season I was anxious to ask Ed how it had performed and how he liked it.

Mechanisation.

Just a little background first. Ed O’Donnell is the sixth generation of his family in farming. Up to a couple of years ago they ran a mixed farming enterprise, tillage, some potatoes, plus dairying. In more recent days, Ed decided to focus on the dairy side of things, and made a massive investment in a specialised dairy production unit.

He currently milks 280 cows, employing just himself and two, part-time operatives. The milking parlour is futuristic, really impressive with the basic layout of the feeding area also well thought out. Feeding for example is simple—the shed design allows the driver to simply follow a figure of eight, with no reversing. The result is factory like, with no lumping-just nice even feed distribution, as the machine moves along.

In keeping with his modern design, Ed decided to invest in a Strautmann VM2401 Verti-Mix Double feeder. The whole operation must be super-efficient to deal with the sheer cow numbers and the staffing level employed. The Strautmann mixes well, incorporating all the additives, often including molasses, and does so with a minimum of fuss. It doesn’t take a massive tractor either, as the machine is easy to drive, and sits on a tandem axle.

The total loading, mixing and feeding operation is now completed in 15 to 20 minutes.

“It was the right choice.”

“We needed a good reliable well-built machine with enough capacity to suit our requirements”, said Ed, “we can add an extension if required to bring the capacity up to 24 cu. meters. The monitoring system is excellent, with full in-cab control. It’s working every day so reliability is key. We checked out a few alternatives before committing to the Strautmann, and as it turned out it really was the right choice”

 

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