It’s been a difficult time for large agri-shows to make a comeback since being cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Germany’s EuroTier certainly tried its best.
Visitor numbers were down to about 106,000 from 141 countries over the four-day event in Hanover, but organizers of the show held every two years seemed content given the challenging circumstances.
There were more than 1,800 exhibitors from 57 countries exhibiting, even somefrom war-torn Ukraine, who were warmly received by the crowds.
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Organized by DLG (German Agricultural Society) the show recognizes that climate change, animal welfare, animal production is changing worldwide.
“Farms must become sustainable and stable in all areas for the future, whether it is animal housing construction and technology, digitization, breeding, feeding or marketing,” says Freya von Czettritz, the new CEO of DLG-Holding.
“This requires innovations, which the EuroTier exhibitors have delivered, showing the potential of future animal husbandry. Our exhibitors were very satisfied with the quality of the international professional visitors.”
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 apps that allow farmers to farm from a distance, EuroTier had them all. Here is a brief description of a couple of pieces of new technology.
Manure management
In a bid to reduce the amount of ammonia produced in the free-stall dairy barn, Dutch company Hanskamp has come up with The CowToilet, which collects urine from dairy cows separately from manure. It’s the combination of the two components that produces high levels of ammonia. The CowToilet reduces the amount of ammonia produced and allows for the urine and manure to be used separately as nutrients or other byproducts.
So how does this happen? The CowToilet is a station or cubicle set up inside the free-stall barn with individual stalls that supply a bit of ration each time an animal enters. At the rear end, a mechanism swings down with a urine-collection reservoir. The reservoir gently rubs an area of the rump under the tail, stimulating a natural nerve reflex that cause the cow to urinate. The urine is collected in the reservoir of the CowToilet and then pumped out and stored separately.
Preventing ammonia in the free-stall barn creates a healthier climate and less odour. Also with the urine being collected, the barn remains cleaner and drier. Less moisture on the floor also means improved foot health.
Separating urine and manure can benefit fertilizer management. Paul Galama, a researcher at the University of Wageningen Livestock Research Centre, deals with innovative dairy systems. While he is not directly involved in the development of the CowToilet, Galama notes there’s nitrogen and potassium in the urine, and there’s phosphate and organic matter in the manure.
“This clean method of separation with the CowToilet allows farmers to fertilize crops in a much more targeted way,” he says. “That in itself is good for the environment. For example, different cuts of grass can be better-fertilized with the urine or manure or a combination of urine and manure. Urine can even be used as a substitute for chemical fertilizer.”
There are some excellent videos showing how the technology works — just Google “cowtoilet Youtube.”
Robot on manure duty
Also on the manure-handling theme, one of the many shed-scraping robots in action at EuroTier was the Auto Scraper Spray model from Royal de Boer (see photo at top). This unit is fully programmable in terms of cleaning routes, frequency of cleaning and a progress report.
The robotic scraper comes in three versions. The most straightforward one, and also the base unit, is the Auto-Scraper. Then there is the more-intelligent Auto-Scraper Pro, as well as the Auto-Scraper Spray, equipped with a water spray system.
The machine follows the sides of the barn and stops when it reaches its charging station. The scraper robot will initiate its next lap when the next preprogrammed start time begins. The Auto-Scraper robot is available in operating widths of 140, 170 and 200 cm (or 55, 67 and 78 inches respectively).
