Ducati899
Member
- Location
- north dorset
i don't really get why people who don't use wagons do nothing but bad mouth them yet farmers with wagons don't mock the man who puts the feed straight in a ring feeder
Feed Wagons
- Thread starter RWG Contracts
- Start date
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
If you follow the religion of kiwi style dairy farming you will see that no one else knows how to farm properly.
Any 1000+cow set up I've been on there has been a tractor devoted to the mixer wagon. Usually a big expensive one that total over kill. The other thing is that on those big units they have multiple group on different diets, highs lows dries transition cow so it's not a case of filling the biggest wagon they can find with all the feeds and feeding everything in 1 go.
My suggestion would be to have a static mixer placed near all the silage stacks and feeds shed for instance with a loader filling it eliminating the need for a 100k tractor clocking up hours as it sits mixing for hours...
The small 80hp tractor would have the wagon (forage box) which would be filled from the static mixer and while that's feeding a group (let's for the purpose of exercise say the dries) the next load is already being mix for the (let's say transition cows)
This system is common overseas etc. Don't forget there is a lot of cock waving going on with look how big my wagon is (see the pic I put up in my first post)
Oh and I've heard a few stories of these monster wagons breaking gang slats and needing a few big loaders to lift them out or in 1 case I read a crane was required...
In Israel they use static mixers with massive elevators into feed out wagons,I'd say it's overkill for anyone in the UK,local 2500 cow herd use a 160hp tractor on the mixer doing 10 or so loads a day,if it isn't mixing feed its doing something else.
In this day and age there is no reason we couldn't have a donkey engine on the wagon and when full hook it onto the loadall to feed out,Bluetooth controls you wouldn't need to get out the loadall and could move the feeder to the product your loading to save running around excessively with the loader.
Fraserb
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
Now were talking, mind not sure how the loadall would cope with a 12ton mix plus the feeder wagon behind it
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
Connecting and disconnecting for every mix would get old pretty quick. What's wrong with getting a cheap, old, high HP tractor to run the wagon.
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
If I wanted to insult your intelligence I would have said finished with "only the wall is smarter" but I didn't now putting that aside.
I was simply making a point from what I've seen from visiting farms around the uk and around the world.
I was simply making the point that at the top end of herd size simply just getting bigger and bigger may not be the correct course of action and see "out of the box thinking" may be required.
To put it another way. If a guy milking 50 cows in a 6 unit abreast parlour was to increase to 150 cows and wanted to build a new parlour he would probably but a 20 unit herringbone over a 20 unit abreast and if a guy in a 20 unit herringbone milking 200 cows want to go to 700 cows he would probably put in a rotary instead of a 70 aside herringbone.
I was just saying maybe there is a different way of doing things. I was sh!t*ing on mixer wagons or tmr. I'll put up some pictures of Saudi Arabia dairy farms if I can find them which has the same set up as I was suggesting only on a huge scale feeding thousands of cows 4 times a day....
My loadalls are 8t so would be fine around the yard,biggest gain would be mixing while on the way to the shed as no pto to disengage.
You would only need to hook on with the pickup hitch,why would that "get old" wireless weighing,wireless controls
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
That old chip on your shoulder coming thru there again mate?
Suggesting a static mixer for extremely large herds doesn't sound like anything you'd see over here does it?
Local 000 man has wangle pto, machine literally doesn't stop turning for 6 hours a day.My loadalls are 8t so would be fine around the yard,biggest gain would be mixing while on the way to the shed as no pto to disengage.
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
Seems you have a fair chip as well. Bit jealous of bigger herds it seems.
I've seen plenty of herds do it both ways mixer/ tractor or stationary mixer. Both can work well.
It's funny I'm a grazer and I hear plenty of other grazers that think they know how people should run TMR herds. Never hear TMR guys tell the guys grazing what to do.
Then there are the kiwi grazers that feel that doing that makes them an expert on every single style of farming.
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
In reality it's best part of £20k/ $40 but all machinery is at a stupid premium because we're so far removed from the rest of the world. Major advantage for us is we only have 1 tractor on farm. A Keenan of similar size is around $100k
Fraserb
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
My loadalls are 8t so would be fine around the yard,biggest gain would be mixing while on the way to the shed as no pto to disengage.
We have 1 or 2 slopes around our yard the NH knows the feeders on its back and thats with the brakes connected, would need bluetooth brakes as well, they do exist though
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
I've got plenty mate on over well over a 1000 cows and I'm more than happy for them but they have a different set of problems to deal with. I'm more than happy with my 600.
You forget I'm not a new Zealander and I have been farming in your part of the world so I do have experience in other systems.
I didn't comment on tmr I was simply making a point that surely there may be a different way to feed the very large herds thanot dragging bigger and bigger wagons and I suggested a method that's used in other parts of the world (not nz).
I also said there are people who just have a wagon to feed silage so why not have a simpler system.
Can't find any comments of me saying that tmr is wrong and they should be doing grazing system!!Can you?
Other people did say such things yet you have skimmed over those comments?
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
Bluetooth brakes
The trouble is if a major manufacturer made one it would cost silly money and you might as well run a tractor on it,I've done the cheap tractor thing
fed my cows with a £1000 mf 590 when I 1st started milking,I don't miss coming in smelling of diesel or oil when it wouldn't go.
Fraserb
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
I would say when you've a few mouths to feed and you've went down the wagon route the tractor on the front needs to be reliable, you're right about the cost as well.
The son of one of the guys at work races bikes and they have wireless brakes on them
The son of one of the guys at work races bikes and they have wireless brakes on them
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
I didn't bad mouth wagons just said some people have them and don't need them.
Yet others have full on bad mouthed them on here yet people are jumping down my throat...
Ducati899
Member
- Location
- north dorset
Wasn't directed at you,I'd read through whole thread and was just a observationI didn't bad mouth wagons just said some people have them and don't need them.
Yet others have full on bad mouthed them on here yet people are jumping down my throat...