Few self-propelled mixer wagons clock up as many hours as the Strautmann machine owned by Dutch contractor Brouwer-Zijp. The firm offers a full-service feeding package.
The Verti-Mix 2001 SF Double self- propelled feeder belonging to Marco Brouwer and Nils Zijp — the two men behind Brouwer-Zijp — is a common sight on country roads near the village of Middenbeemster to the north of Amsterdam. Starting at 6.30am every day, the feeder is quieter during the summer when it usually returns home by lunchtime. But from mid-October to mid-April, when the German-made mixer feeds 2,400 animals at 18 farms, it is not back at the yard until around 4.00pm.
This story starts nine years ago when half-a dozen farmers expressed interest in a contract feeding service. Keen to find something to fill the void from the end of maize harvest to the mid-Feb start of the slurry season, the contractor pondered the options. RMH and Storti mixer wagons were popular at the time, but the company opted to stick with local dealer Evenboer, which has the Strautmann franchise. The contractor has never looked back since demo-ing an 18-month-old (2007-built) SF 2000 for a couple of weeks. The firm bought it in 2009, and for the first three years it fed around 700 animals at seven farms
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