At the end of October, International Agents Paul and Alan Sayle spent 3 days in various regions of Belgium and Southern Netherlands.
L-R Alan Sayle, David Simmons, Rudy Keysers, Paul Sayle, Ward Keysers
They were accompanied by David and Lut from Spider Solutions who are Home n’ Dry merchants for the region, and Rudy & Ward Keysers from Keysers Veevoeders – compound feeds.
Day one included a meeting with a veterinary group who have seen the benefits of Alka feeds and who wanted to learn more. Following the meeting there was a moving visit to the Menin Gate war memorial in Ypres.
Day two took in a visit to Keysers Veevoeders, a family run feed compounder in the Westmalle region. Rudy and Ward are the third and fourth generation of the family run business. As a main part of their business, they supply compound feeds, blends and grains to cattle farms in the Antwerp Kempen region but also in the southern Netherlands.
In recent years, Keysers have utilised Home n’ Dry treated grains (Alkagrain), at specified levels, in their feeds and have seen very positive results and feedback from their customers. ‘More and more farmers are requesting our personalized service and ability to provide bespoke Alka feeds’ says Rudy.
Following a tour of the mill facility, the group visited two beef units who were customers of Keysers. Both units were very impressive – the first was using Home n’ Dry to produce Wheat & Barley Alkagrain 75 on farm and then incorporating it into the mixed ration. The farmer commented ‘since introducing Alkagrain to the ration, the cattle seem more content, are better on their feet, have consistent dung, they are performing well and our financial return has improved’.
The second unit was using an Alkablend supplied by Keysers. They are finishing approximately 40 cattle a week. They also have their own abattoir, 12 of their own shops and are supplying 38 others. Approximately 12 months ago, the farm contacted Rudy to go and have a coffee with them. The cattle were not performing as they desired. Rudy discussed the benefits of Alka feeding – an order for an Alkablend was given there and then for delivery for the next day! Within two weeks, a marked improvement had been noted.
The farmer repeated the comments of the previous farm that the cattle were ‘content and dung good’ but added ‘they are finishing really well, good carcass quality and the setting of the meat has improved’
On the final day, the group met at Keysers with an agricultural journalist who had recently done a feature on the success of Keysers – he wanted to do a follow up feature on Alka feeds for a dairy magazine.
All then visited a large dairy farm in Rijkevorsel. Here the farm was incorporating Alkagrain 150 into the herd’s ration. There are over 400 head milked through a rotary parlour twice a day and averaging 37 Litres at 4.2 BF and 3.8 Protein.
To trip was finished off with a welcome visit to the Café Trappisten in Westmalle to sample a pint from the Brewery Der Trappisten Van Westmalle – a brewery located within the walls of the Trappist Abbey, to reflect on the impressive farms visited and the increased use of Alka feeds in the region.
Paul and Alan would like to thank David, Lut, Rudy, Rudy’s Mother and Ward for their hospitality during their visit.