Sjouke Elzinga from Warffumerweg, Onderdendam, in the Netherlands currently milks 160 cows on his grass-based dairy farm in the north of the country.

He recently expanded his housing facilities, installing a new milking parlour at the same time.

Sjouke has plans to move to 180 cows. However, due to the changes in regulations, expansion has been ruled out for a lot of farmers.

The Dutch government brought in legislation in November 2016 in a bid to curb phosphorus output on Dutch farms, as they aim to come back in line with EU regulation.

The new restrictions mean that if Sjouke wants to expand, he will have to pay €8,000 per cow to acquire the required phosphorus allowances.

This will be a €160,000 investment. This may seem excessive, but it has not put Sjouke off, as he is seriously considering the investment.

“When quotas were here, we would have to pay €10,000 per cow to expand.” Investing to expand is not new to Dutch farmers.

Picture one

Sjouke decided to expand his existing cubicle shed to provide a further 65 cubicles. He also constructed a 12-unit double milking parlour providing a total of 24 units. This has been built off the new cubicle shed, which also doubles up as the collecting yard. The adjoining existing cubicle shed has accommodation for 135 cows, giving total capacity for 200 cows.

There are various dairy systems operated in the Netherlands. The majority of systems will see cows remaining indoors for the entire year. However, in this case, cows will go out to grass during the day and remain housed at night.

This is also done with one eye on labour, as cows are generally milked at 5.30 every morning. Cows will also be milked at 4.30 in the evening. Cows will be housed full-time from October onwards and will get back out to pasture in March/April, depending on conditions.

Pictures two and three

The parlour is a 12-unit double. As only one man will be in the pit at a time, cows will generally be waiting to be milked, but Sjouke prefers it this way, as a six-unit double parlour was previously in place on the farm.

The parlour is fitted with automatic cluster removers and DeLaval Solidex swing-back feeders are also in place. A unique feature of this parlour is that the floor of the pit is adjustable, meaning it can be raised or lowered to suit the height of the farmer.

This was installed to not only suit potential future employees that could work on the farm but to suit Sjouke’s father who also milks on the farm.

“If you are milking for a few hours every day, then you want it to be enjoyable,” said Sjouke. Pig slats were also chosen for the parlour as they provide more of a spring than a concrete floor.

The use of robotic milking machines has grown in the Netherlands over the past few years, especially on confinement systems and it was seriously considered by Sjouke.

He decided against it, as he prefers to see each cow individually every day, something he believes he would not get with robots. “Not only do I get to see the cows this way, but it is easier to get finance off the banks for a parlour than it is for robots,” said Sjouke.

Picture four

The new cubicle shed is fitted with EasyFix cubicles with the flexible rubber loop. Sjouke has been very impressed with these cubicles, as he no longer has any issues with cows getting caught in cubicles, especially with older cows.

He also hopes to eventually install these cubicles into the existing shed. The new EasyFix cubicles are 1.15m wide, while the existing cubicles are 1.12m wide. Within the shed, mature cows and milking heifers are kept in two separate groups.

“There was a lot of unrest when they were mixed, but now they don’t have to fight for space,” according to Sjouke, who says the shed is much more relaxed. Cows will still be mixed prior to milking with cows and heifers drafted into separate areas after milking.

Cows are high-yielding Holstein Friesian, with an average of 9,000 litres per year. Cows are calving all year round on the farm with an average production of 3.5% protein and 3.4% fat. Somatic cell count for the herd is an average of 120,000.

Pictures five, six and seven

As opposed to constructing a separate room to hold the bulk tank, the decision was made to install an external milk silo. The silo has the capacity to hold 20,000 litres, with milk being collected every three days.

A heat recovery system is installed in the milk cooling machine, which heats the water used in the shed. It has the ability to provide approximately 80% of the hot water used in the shed.

The roof of the shed is very unique and not something which I have come across on Irish farms. The entire roof is clear, but still maintains the strength of a traditional roof due to an aluminium coating according to Sjouke, known as a light roof. The roof will allow the light through, but it will not allow the heat through.

This is particularly useful for milking in the summer when temperatures can reach 35°C.

Even on a dull day, such as the day I visited, the roof ensures a bright shed. Sjouke not only used this roof on the new extension, but he also re-roofed his existing cubicle shed with the light roof. Safety should be a key concern, with such a roof only installed in Ireland if it meets the required safety standards.

A curtain is in place along one side of the shed. This can be adjusted depending on the weather and is controlled automatically by a weather sensor on the roof of the shed, dictated by the rain and the temperature.

Investment

The extension of the shed came to a total cost of €700,000; tying the new shed into the existing cubicle shed added cost. The current milk price in the Netherlands has a base price of 42.5c/l. However, akin to Irish dairy farms, they are exposed to a volatile milk price with a low of 26c/l throughout 2016.

The majority of Dutch farmers that I talked to did not have any fears about seeking finance. Sjouke explained that interest rates to farmers are very favourable: “Money can be got very cheaply from the bank, but it is not always easy to get approved for the finance.”

The mentality to finance becomes less surprising when you take into account that land will make an average price of €70,000/ha in the Netherlands, with farmers used to spending substantial figures if they wish to expand.

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