Patz Success Story
The Woodstonian Holsteins' Patz Feed System is Fool Proof
By Doreen Roberts
Whenever Kees Overzet considers any new system for his 130 cow free stall dairy operation he keeps one thing in mind-it has to be fool proof so that anyone can operate it. The feed system that met his criteria for simplicity, ease of operation, reliability and low maintenance costs was a Patz feeding system. This includes a Model 4380 Open Top Stationary Auger Mixer, Model RD-2200 Silo Unloader, two Model 98B Silo Unloaders, three Model 166 Conveyors and one Model 262 Conveyor.
The operation is on a 3 times per day milking and 2 times per day feeding schedule with hired help to assume some of the work load. Plus, Wilma and Kees utilize custom operators to fill the silos, so the system has to be simple and easy to use for everyone.
When many farmers were putting in bunkers, the Overzets built 2 more silos and installed Patz unloaders. He likes this type of feed storage because he doesn't have to work out in the freezing cold everyday, and he or anyone just has to push a button to run the system. Plus, the maintenance on the Patz unloaders is so low compared to his other silo unit. Kees doesn't even have to level the feed after a fill. The only "problem" he has had was that the Ring Drive threw the haylage down so fast (even at just 3/4 power capacity), and so he had to build a custom hopper in order for the conveyor to keep up with the increased volume.
Wilma and Kees Overzet with their lovely children Korey 5 1/2, Derek who is almost 4, Christi 21 months, and 6 month old Jana at their fine family farm near Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.
Kees was very impressed with weight of the Patz conveyors. In fact, when their dealer, Embro Farm Systems, Inc., was doing the installation the space was tight, so they had to use manpower to lift just the top section into place-it took 4 men to do it. Kees laughed because he said, "we had a lot of fun getting it up there." The mixer easily handles the 3000 kilo recipe quickly and mixes the ration to the correct specifications.
Since 1988, the Overzets have worked hard to increase the production and profitability of the farm, and Kees and Wilma look forward to a positive future with many more good things to come. They deserve it!