Innovation in Feed Mix Technology
By Carli Nel and Rudi Massyn
In the modern age of farming where competition is stiff, the economic climate
is unstable and the conditions are harsh, ensuring economic sustainability is imperative and keeping abreast with the latest technology advancements plays a
major role in securing the farmer’s future.
S
elf-propelled, self-loading
feed mixers are one such
technology but have yet to
make their mark in South
Africa.
This is strange considering the acceptance and obvious successes of
other machines such as monster self
-propelled forage harvesters, crop
sprayers and combine harvesters,
which have become the norm. Selfpropelled diet feeders are yet to
follow. Saving time and money are
crucial for any business. Being able
to save time and money while increasing productivity, is a win-win
situation.
These self-propelled feeders offer
many distinct advantages over
trailed machines. There few machines required to do more work on
a farm than a feed mixer and, it
would make sense to have a single
dedicated self-propelled unit that
did not rely on a tractor being available to operate it at feeding time. A
trailed feeder model also needs a
loader to place the required rations
into its mixing hopper – yet another
machine that must be available to
serve the feeder. In addition, dairy
and beef operations are now larger
than ever and the total time taken
to feed several different classes of
livestock is an important consideration, particularly when shelling out
large overtime payments on weekends to get the job done.
Counting the cost
International markets have slowly
ventured into this technology and
many farmers abroad attest to its
success. Some have even accounted
a cut of 15% in feeding time. Considering that many farmers spend
several hours a day feeding, a 15%
reduction in time spent on this activity is very cost effective. In Israel
and Italy, for example, selfpropelled machines outnumber the
volume of trailed units.
Willem and Paul Basson, dairy farm-
ers milking 1 000 cows at
Uilenkraal, a stone’s throw from
Darling in the Western Cape, were
introduced to the self-propelled diet
feeder concept after a visit to the
RMH head office and manufacturing site in Israel. They investigated
the possibilities with their local
Deutz dealer, Gerald Abbott of
Weskus Enjinherbouers. With the
impressive features of the feeder
and Abbott acknowledging he
could easily provide local service,
Willem and Basson didn’t hesitate
and took delivery of a Megamix
21 W in June, 2013.
The forecasts and expected benefits
were based on feeding trials in Israel, which showed that a selfpropelled mixer group producing 3
kg more milk – an increase from 42
to 45 kg of milk – than a trailed
mixer in exactly the same herd with
the same feed and same operator.
This increase came as a result of the
greater accuracy of mixing achieved
Kobus and Danie Louw of the farm Eensgezind near Klipheuwel with their new RMH Megamix 21W