Menu
Menu
Amid the open fields in Eeklo, East Flanders, we find the Matthys family’s farm. A farm with 135 dairy cows that collectively produce about 1.4 million litres annually. In partnership with Friesland Campina, they do grazing on the farm.
In 2015, they invested in a new barn for the cows. The barn contains 2 milking robots that ensure cows are milked three times a day. Furthermore, the choice was made to construct a full floor with manure sliders. The choice of a manure scraper that scrapes fresh manure every hour and a half was deliberate. Besides animal comfort, the pocket digester was the driving force. “Fresh manure is hugely beneficial in the energy production process. Otherwise, you should know that a lot of biogas potential is lost.”
Since 2015, the Matthys family has been using a 9.7 kW installation. ‘At that time, I didn’t have 135 cows, so a smaller installation was most suitable then. Now a 22 kW installation would definitely be a possibility.’
With today’s high energy prices, circular agriculture is increasingly seen as the future. Joeri is also convinced of this. ‘With the number of cows I have here, I could put a bigger plant. The electricity and heat now generated by the plant is used entirely for running the farm. ‘The big advantage is that the energy supply is constant. With solar panels and wind power, there are more often times when no energy can be produced.’
The roof of my digester has no insulation as most Biolectric installations have now. Despite this, I already save more than 2/3 of my energy consumption per year. In fact, my consumption is around 80 MW per year and the plant accounts for about 60 MW of that. Moreover, the digestate I am left with after the digestion process is smoother to apply and also acts on the soil faster.’
Qua onderhoud is alles gemakkelijk te combineren met het dagelijkse werk op de boerderij. ‘On maintenance in general, I don’t have much work. Every day I spend 5 to 10 minutes checking the installation. And every 400 hours I change the engine oil once. For what I save in energy and manure costs, that investment in time is more than worth it.’
The technology has proven itself on the farm for more than 7 years. Meanwhile, the investment has been fully recouped. “If I were faced with the same choice again, I certainly wouldn’t hesitate.”
