Andrew Wilkinson from Croston Hall Farm shares how his new Abbey VF1250, purchased from Rickerby Carnforth, is improving efficiencies, reducing costs and promoting herd health
Andrew Wilkinson’s new Abbey VF1250 Diet Feeder is improving his entire feeding program making feed more consistent while reducing time and manual labour for his 320+ herd. ‘The consistency of the feed and how well the Abbey feeder chop round bales for easier intake of forage for the young calves is a huge value to us here’ Andrew shares ‘The feeder chops so well that you can move young calves on to forage as young as 3 months, cutting down significantly on the cost of feeding concentrates and blends’ The Abbey VF1250 is a streamlined single auger feeder delivering quality chopped feed in an even mix. The 15mm augers, 8 blades, 2 counter knives and COMER Planetary Gear Drive combine for a top-of-the-line machine with exceptional manoeuvrability.
Now standard on all Abbey Diet Feeders is the new 2810 Digi-Star Weighing System, an intuitive management tool to access and analyze feed data instantly. Croston Hall Farm use the new Digi-Star Weighing System to track daily weight gains and measure the average weight per pen and per animal all directly from their mobile phone. The new Digi-Star System helps optimize TMR inputs through precision loading, improving profitability. The system includes a free mobile app for in-cab control improving efficiency and eliminating manual feed sheets. ‘I plan to use the Digi-Star feed app with the sheep flock as well, especially at lambing time to TMR feed to their required needs to save on cost and forage. There are such a wide range of feeding options that the app offers and it is so easy to use.’ The Abbey VF1250 has added efficiency and cost reductions to Croston Hall Farm ‘it is also apparent how much more content the animals are with the quality of the ration that is being fed to them’ comments Andrew ‘which is a huge benefit to the overall wellness and yield’. Andrew is delighted with the Abbey VF1250 Diet Feeder and the paired Digi-Star Weighing System and feed app.
Learn more about Abbey Machinery Diet Feeders here.
