Altemeyer family
Number of beef cattle: 360
Ration: Maize, concentrate feed, grass and minerals
Feeding system: Triomatic T30 with WP 2 300 feeding robot
Berthold and Nina Altemeyer, from Salzbergen in Germany, have a beef farm with 360 cattle that are fed using a Triomatic T30 automatic feeding system. When asked why they opted for automatic feeding, Nina does not hesitate to answer: "Certainty!" For her, the Triomatic system is the same as having a full-time employee on the farm. Nina: "For me, certainty is the most important reason for choosing automatic feeding. If Berthold unexpectedly fell ill or was temporarily unable to work for whatever reason, the feeding would always go ahead, whatever the circumstances. I could still run the farm on my own, and I find that a very reassuring thought."
Nina Altemeyer: "The Triomatic system is an extra pair of hands on the farm"
More accurate than a mixer wagon
The balanced rations are preprogrammed and are fed to the animals exactly in accordance with the feed consultant's recommendations. Berthold: "With the mixer wagon, things were different. It was a lot less accurate; everything was an approximation. But that's all in the past."
Because everything is now weighed with precision, the animals receive a balanced ration at all times. And if any adjustments need to be made, they can do that themselves. Berthold: "In a nutshell: we want more energy going in and less protein and fewer emissions coming out. This is possible through targeted feeding. We expect that the bullocks will even leave the barn a whole month earlier. They are now putting on 1,200 grams a day, where before it was more like 900 to 1,000 grams. Accurate feeding is saving us a lot of money over the long term"
Less hierarchy among the animals
"We also see an enormous difference in our animals' behaviour", adds Nina. "Before, they were really skittish, but now the children can even cycle through the barn and the animals will remain calm. That used to be absolutely unimaginable." Berthold: "The animals are calmer because they no longer need to compete for the tastiest feed. Being provided with fresh feed four times a day means there is less dominance behaviour. And when the animals are happy, so am I."
"It's a nice, complete system", continues Berthold. "There's no work involved, apart from filling the feed storage units, of course. The storage area stays neat and tidy and doesn't require much work, which is also important for us."
Dealer can log in remotely
The Altemeyers can always turn to their Triomatic dealer for advice and assistance. "It's wonderful that our dealer (LVD Krone) is available to answer our questions 24/7. They can even log in to the feeding system remotely if necessary. Particularly in the beginning, it's very reassuring to know that you're not on your own and you have support to fall back on."
At first, the Altemeyers were planning to buy a new feed wagon, but when they saw the Triomatic in a video, Berthold and Nina were immediately convinced. Berthold: "It represents a major improvement – and not just for the farm. I like to spend the extra free time with my three children. Obviously, you can't put a price on that."