Family Cazemier "Making efficient use of the existing barn was very important to us. That's what tipped the scales in our choice for the Merlin 2+ milking robot."

Dairy farmers Janneke and Pim Cazemier lead busy lives. Not only do they run their dairy farm in Den Horn, they are also active in various other fields. Janneke is an embryo transfer specialist at cattle breeding cooperative CRV, while former top-level speed skater and cyclist Pim is a business advisor at an accounting firm as well as treasurer of BoerenNatuur Groningen West. The two Merlin 2+s they have been using for a few years now take a great deal of work off their hands, without compromising their strong focus on cow comfort.

“We have 95 dairy cows and around 62 hectares of land in total,” says Pim. “About 40 hectares of that is grazing land. We work fairly extensively and give the cows plenty of space. On top of that, we’re actively involved in meadow bird management, which is an important part of how we run our business.”

A well-considered choice for the Merlin 2+

One of the family business’s main goals has always been to work as nature-inclusively as possible. Pim: “When we started looking into a milking robot, that vision was naturally part of our thinking. We wanted a solution that really fits our business and matches the way we want to work. That’s why we had several brands here on the farm, so we could experience for ourselves what the differences are and where the strength of each robot lies. That allowed us to make a well-considered choice that fits our operations and ambitions.”

Flexibility in robot set-up

Janneke works as an embryo transfer specialist at CRV, which takes her to many different dairy farms. There, she regularly saw and heard experiences with Fullwood robots, and farmers were generally very enthusiastic about them. “That certainly got us thinking,” says Pim. “At the same time, we faced an important choice: do we scale down and go for one robot, or do we go for two robots so we have a bit more capacity and flexibility going forward?” Initially there were plans for a new barn, but Janneke and Pim ultimately decided against it. “A major advantage of Fullwood is the flexibility of the system. The robots can be fitted relatively easily into a smaller space. With other brands, you often need more space or have to give up cubicles. Because making efficient use of the existing barn was very important to us, that tipped the scales in our choice for the Merlin 2+.”

Reliability

Pim: “The purchase price of the Fullwood was slightly lower, but that wasn’t the deciding factor for us. It’s a significant investment either way, so what matters most is that the system is reliable and works well. The farms we visited were all very positive about their experiences with the Merlin 2+. The maintenance side also gave us confidence. With Fullwood, you can carry out some of that maintenance yourself, partly because not all parts have a serial number. I’ve already been able to resolve a few faults over the phone together with Fullwood, which would probably have been harder with other brands. That not only saves time, but also cuts costs considerably.”

The importance of grazing

“At the moment we have thirty cows that have each produced over 100,000 kilograms of milk. Five of them are still in the barn. That impressive milk yield says something about the health of the cows, and we’re proud of that,” says Pim. “That health and their visible comfort are directly linked to the value we place on grazing. With some dairy farmers, you see grazing decline as soon as they switch to a milking robot. That’s exactly what we wanted to avoid. Grazing had to remain an important part of how we run the business. That’s why, together with our local dealer, Melkveetechniek de Jong, careful consideration was given to the importance of grazing. That’s reflected, among other things, in the enormous flexibility of barn layout that the Merlin 2+ allows. Ours are now set up so that there’s a perfect flow, allowing us to keep giving the cows fresh new plots of grass.” The two Merlin 2+s take a great deal of work off the hands of Janneke, Pim and his parents too, without that efficiency coming at the expense of the nature and character of the business. “My parents are gradually getting a bit older, and we ourselves lead busy lives. It’s great to be helped by technology, without becoming a different kind of business.”