Computerized Feedcart

Computerized Feedcart LIVESTOCK Dairy (17) 11-3-34 "This is the first powered cart that's programmable so you can give each cow the exact amount of feed for maximum production," says Dennis Hilgendorf, president of CSF Inc., Stoughton, Wis. about his company's new Digifeed feed cart. "There are other powered carts on the market but none that you can program. And there are programmable track feeders, but they cost $10,000. Our new programmable cart sells for $4,300," he points out. Digifeed can be programmed to feed up to 999 cows one ration, or to feed 100 cows 10 different rations. For example, you could set the cart to feed each cow their required amount of grain on one pass, then use a second setting for a return pass to top-dress concentrate. "One of our customers has 3 hired men who used to feed his 150 cows by hand. He found that by feeding with the cart and ensuring that cows received the right amount of feed no matter who was feeding, his herd average increased 900 lbs," Hilgendorf notes. "Setting up the system is easy. Initial coding into the control unit takes just five minutes," he says. "You punch in the cow's number and the amount of feed she should receive. Then, when you go through the barn feeding the animals, you punch up the cow's number, press a button on the steering arm and the correct amount of feed is fed out." After feeding that animal, the Digifeed control automatically moves to the next cow number. If you feed cows by stall numbers, you can feed 50 cows in just four minutes, says Hilgendorf. He notes that, normally, you'd recalibrate the cart once a month when test reports come in with the new feed requirements. If a cow is ill or otherwise off-feed, the control can be manually overridden to give the animal less feed. Calibrating the control for a particular feed involves running the conveyor for a set amount of time, weighing the amount of feed discharged and punching in the appropriate number. Once set, the cart's accurate to 1/10th of a lb. It's powered by two 12-V. batteries. However, even if the batteries go dead, the control keeps animal rations intact in its memory. The system is sealed to make it dust and moisture resistant. The cart is equipped with a 2-speed conveyor, direct powered front wheel drive, steel frame, plywood hopper (14 or 17 bu. capacity) and an adjustable variable discharge door for controlling flow rate whether you're feeding shelled, cracked or ground feed, pellets or soybean meal. Its single control handle lets you turn on the dime. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, CSF Ag Division, Inc., 810 Hwy. 51E, P.O. Box 182, Stoughton, Wis. 53589-0182 (ph 608 873-7130)

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