There is always a lot going on at Fragner, located in Feuchtwangen, Bavaria. Four generations live and work under one roof, but the Fleckvieh cattle are clearly in the majority.
135 dairy cows set the tone at Fragner in Bavaria, but the farm raises bulls and sells breeding cattle as well. There are also 148 hectares of grassland, woods and fields for growing feed. All this is managed by Verena Hußmann together with her large family and three employees. And she still had time to grant us an interview:
Growing News: You are a successful and enthusiastic farm manager. Were you born that way, and what does the next generation look like?
Verena Hußmann: Fleckvieh breeding and the cows have been my great passion for as long as I can remember. It was always clear to me that I would run the farm some day. The kids have so far been very interested in the farm, and we are really hoping they will take over.
What is it like living and working with multiple generations on the farm?
We are a very open household – there are generally 8 to 12 people sitting at our lunch table since 10 people live here and we usually have visitors. There is always something going on. The barn is the place for peace and quiet.
Why did you choose the Fleckvieh breed?
We have raised this breed for a long time, and we value their dual use character since we also rear the bulls ourselves sometimes.
Which Bauer machines do you use, and why did you choose them?
The first Bauer machine was an Eckart tanker in the manure cooperative, but now there are a variety of slurry pumps on the farm as well as the BBU, of course. We chose Bauer because the equipment is easy to use and we have always had good experiences.
What were the main reasons for buying the BBU?
Our barn has a slatted floor with deep bed stalls and a separate space for the cows to move about. We previously worked with straw or lime. After two visits to Eurotier, my husband and Martin Bissinger (of Bauer – Ed.) convinced me that bedding and separation is the right system for our cows. The easy process for making the bedding hygienic and of course the unbeatable comfort of the material for the cows were major factors in favor of the BBU. Plus, the cell counts have gone down considerably, which is very positive for the health of the animals.
How often is the BBU used, and how much of the manure do you process?
We scrape the slats twice daily and fill the stalls with new bedding using the spreading machine at the same time. About 50 percent of the manure is processed with the BBU.
