Germany’s EuroTier farm show showcases all kinds of new equipment and technology geared for livestock production.
While the biennial event was cancelled during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, it was back in business for the 2022 show. The four-day event held in Hanover drew about 106,000 people from 141 countries. While attendance numbers were down from past shows, organizers were pleased with the turnout, given the challenging circumstances.
EuroTier featured more than 1,800 exhibitors from 57 countries exhibiting at the event, some even from war-torn Ukraine, who were warmly received by the crowds.
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On display was a plethora of new machines, technology, equipment and feed that have been developed to make farming just a little bit easier, at a cost of course.
From new telehandlers, to calf-feeding technology, to robots, to interesting apps that allow farmers to farm from a distance, EuroTier had them all. Here is a brief description of a couple pieces of new technology.
Colostrum Care Centre
All the way from the U.S., the Colostrum Care Centre is a processing unit designed to offer complete handling of colostrum from cow to calf. It carries out the bagging, pasteurizing, cooling, rewarming and feeding in the one machine. After the cow’s first milking, the colostrum is collected and put into one-gallon bags. The cooling zone contains a chilled water bath of 2-4 C, used to immediately chill the post-pasteurized colostrum to stop bacteria growth, then keep it refrigerated until it’s time to feed to the next calf. The pasteurizing zone uses the heat generated from the chilling system to preheat the water. When the pasteurizing cycle begins, it uses an electric element to supply any additional heat needed to achieve and maintain a pasteurizing temperature of 60 C. The rewarming zone will bring the pasteurized colostrum to feeding temperature.
Topcalf — Duo Easy Clean
New regulations for rearing calves are making their way through Europe. These include bigger rearing spaces per calf. Dutch company Topcalf displayed its Duo Easy Clean XXL unit, which gives 4.5 square metres lying space per calf. This galvanized steel calf pen is easily moved by a forklift and tilts to allow easy cleaning. The unit sits on four caster wheels, the front two with brakes. It has two-part front doors that enables easy entry into the calf hutch without disturbing a drinking calf. There is a removable partition and optional extras include tiltable bucket holders with locking system.
Sylco Hellas Sheep/goat milking parlour
Greek company Sylco Hellas showed its fast-exit sheep and goat milking parlour. This setup was a 16-point parlour idea for farms with more than 200 animals to milk. They can cater from 12 to 80 positions in a single or double row, with capacities from 200 to 550 animals per hour. There is an all-stainless steel model. The space for each animal is increased to 40cm, so that even larger animals are comfortable. The feed troughs are also stainless steel and have partitions for each animal. The whole front side is lifted by two special air cylinders, one on each side, and the entrance gates for the animals are also air operated. There is a central control box inside the milking pit, where all the controls for fast exit, and entry doors are fitted. GN
