As a farmer’s son and dairy technician, Henk Hanskamp knew that milk cows could be fed more efficiently so they might produce more. In a shed behind his house, he designed a practical cow-feeding station that drew a positive response from dairy farmers. The company now produces many products, including a newly designed walk-through station.

Hanskamp says the walk-through station optimizes cow traffic and requires fewer feeding stations than a walk-in/back-out design. The station is made of tubular steel with openings between the bars that allow cows to see the rest of the herd so they’re more comfortable in that environment. A cow enters the station from the back, and when the station identifies the transponder on her leg, the rear gate closes. Feed is automatically dispensed according to her transponder identity. When she’s done eating, the front gate opens, allowing her to walk out so the next cow can enter. The transition takes about 15 seconds. If a cow enters without a transponder, no feed is dispensed, and she can walk through.

Feeding stations keep the cows calm and allow each one to consume the exact amount of feed they need without interference from other cows. Calm feeding reduces cow stress, so they produce more milk.

The walk-through station has a pneumatic pipe feeder that quickly supplies feed to the cow. Multiple feed stations can be linked together using one tube feeding system. The company’s Spider smartphone app can remotely control the feed station and feed supply.

One of Hanskamp’s test farmers reports that using the walk-through rather than the walk-in station increased the number of daily cow visits from 482 to 593. He says that young cows were especially more at ease because they could walk out of the station instead of backing out and encountering other cows.

Pricing depends on installation specifications.

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hanskamp (info@hanskamp.nl; www.hanskamp.com/en/)