Agriprom outruns competition with Agriflex cow

mattress and patented Release cubicle

"Cow Comfort results in profitability and convenience for the farmer”

Agriprom offers complete solutions for the barn equipment worldwide.

The Cow Comfort concept is ground for the solutions. The company

currently excels with the Agriflex cow mattress and the patented Release

cubicle.

The Total Cow Comfort concept is focused on the comfort of the animal

and the profitability and convenience for the dairy farmer, says director

Johan Staal. "Cows that are housed in a comfortable environment

produce more milk and have a healthier and longer life. Cow comfort goes

beyond a comfortable mattress. It's about the big picture. "

Flexible top layer

The Agriflex cow mattress is a robust system with elastic Energetic® Latex.

The top cover contains of 100 percent rubber; the thickness of the top

layer is 4 millimeters. The top layer is reinforced by a flexible cord layer,

which prevents the mat to deform. The front cover of the top mat is

finished with a profile, for optimum grip for the cow.

The rubber cow mattress has an elastic Energetic Ecolatex® underlayer.

Energetic® latex contains a high content of natural rubber. The 'Memory'

of this rubber ensures a permanent, comfortable elasticity. Energetic®

Reference: Cow comfort

and time saving

Gerjan Berenbroek from

Buurse (The Netherlands)

has 170 dairy cows. He is

very pleased with the

Agriflex mattresses. Every

year he replaces one row

deep litter boxes by the

latex mattresses from

Agriprom.

"I noticed that cows

prefer the latex

mattresses better than

the deep litter boxes,"

says Berenbroek. "We

have tried a number of

alternatives, but the

Agriflex proved to be the

best. Both for the cow and

for to the farmer. "

latex is water repellent and has a mold and bacteria inhibiting effect. The

resilience of latex is much better than poly eater, says Staal. "We obtain

our material from a major European manufacturer of beds. All error

productions mattresses are ground to a material which blocks are

pressed. There are then cut sheets of latex, which we use for our

mattresses."

Almost no litter

Another major advantage of the cow mattress is that it is easy to clean. "A

farmer does not need litter necessarily, at most a little absorbent powder

or sawdust on the rear edge of the mat," says Staal. According to him, the

Agriflex provides the same cow comfort as sand boxes, without the high

costs of bedding and extra work to keep them clean.

"Some farmers believe in deep-litter boxes, because of the comfort. But

I've never seen figures showing that cows stay longer in these boxes than

the average of 12-14 hours per day. I sometimes wonder why the Dutch

farmers are so eager to use deep-litter, while litter is currently quite

expensive. We have enough customers abroad who never use sawdust."

Flexible plastic pipe

The patented Release cubicle is another part of the Total Cow Comfort

program of Agriprom. This friendly cubicle consists of flexible plastic

tubes, which are reinforced with fiberglass. Cows cannot be damaged and

not get pinched under the partition. Staal: "The tube dodges and slides

along the body, ensuring that cows can easily lie down and stand up."

The Release box has no obstacles in front of the berth, so the cow is not

hindered when standing up. The adjustable shoulder beam provides the

animal with an optimum freedom of movement.

Wide range

The Total Cow Comfort program consists not only of animal friendly barn

equipment. Agriprom has a wide range of rubber mats and slat rubber,

cubicles, disinfection mats, calf huts, food supplements with probiotics

and rapid tests for SCC, calves diarrhea and ketosis. The company has

offices in the Netherlands, France, Romania, Turkey, Algeria and Tanzania.

According to Staal there are plans to expand to China and Pakistan.

The mattresses provide

optimal cow comfort.

"The manure and milk

spoilage do not get in the

mats, the cows stand up

easily without slipping

and the cubicles are easy

to clean," he says.

“The farms are getting

bigger, you get more and

more cows per person,”

explains Berenbroek. " For

the deep litter boxes I had

to work on 3 to 4 times a

day to scratch out. The

mattresses are flat and

fast to clean. Now I am 3

times faster when I make

my tour in the stables."

Berenbroek also has

reduced his costs for litter

by two-thirds. "Previously

I paid 6,000 euros per

year for sawdust, now

2000 euros. We are going

to build a new barn in

August for 140 cows. It

will be filled with Agriflex

mattresses."