Mist cooling as answer to hot summers at Gebr. Peters' goat farm in Schaijk!
By installing mist cooling systems in pig and poultry houses, Peeters has made a name for itself with various farmers at home and abroad. In goat farming, mist cooling was still relatively unknown, but goat farmer Gebr. Peters (Marcel & Geert-Jan) from Schaijk wanted to give it a chance. Together with Hessel, owner of Peeters, he perfected the system and Geert-Jan, one of the owners, likes to tell about the result.
Heat stress causes loss of production
Just under 10,000 goats run in the sheds at 2 locations of Gebr. Peters, and the trick is to keep the ladies as vital as possible and thus maintain milk production. “That is not always easy in the summer,” Geert-Jan explains. “Every goat farmer will recognize that after three heat days of more than 30 degrees, milk production drops significantly. After five days of heat stress, we even saw a 15% loss. After three periods in a short time, milk production does not return to its previous level. I started thinking about how to lower the temperature in the barns and came to Peeters. I knew that they had already achieved good results in livestock farming with mist cooling.”
Sufficient evidence that the system works
It was decided to take the middle of the three barns as the test site. Geert-Jan: “That barn was the least cooled by the outside air and thus remained the warmest. Working closely together, we developed a system that really works. We started three years ago and by constantly improving, we have now developed the ideal situation. When the temperature in the barn rises above 23 degrees, the mist cooling comes on and the temperature drops immediately. The difference was immediately visible: in the middle barn, the goats kept walking around calmly, while in the other two barns, which were not initially cooled, the goats lay down on the floor to get as much cooling as possible from the floor. I saw immediately that it worked; I didn’t need to do a study on that.”
Investment recouped in one year
A real fear of Geert-Jan was that the goats might get sick from the humid air, but that fear proved unfounded. “Our animals are more vital and active than ever. Meanwhile, the system has been installed in all the barns on our farm. With mist cooling I can keep my production the same in the summer; after one summer we have already earned back the investment.” Hessel adds: “Because of the size of the mist droplets, goat farmers are eligible for an energy investment deduction (EIA/MIA/VAMIL), which makes it even more interesting to get in.”
“With mist cooling I can keep our production the same in summer, after just one summer we have already recouped our investment!”
Pioneering as a challenge
Geert-Jan, like his goats, is happy with the mist cooling. “Our staff, too, for that matter,” he laughs. “They too experience a cooler working environment. By installing a mist curtain, we now prevent the dust that is released when bedding the lying areas from getting to the milk carousel. Another fine solution from Peeters. It also provides some extra cooling. We are glad that we chose Peeters, a young and dynamic company. They think along with us and find it a challenge to pioneer in this field. As far as we are concerned, this was a wonderful collaboration that especially makes our goats very happy.”
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