Can Hustler’s SL360X and an Auger Bucket Replace Your Mixer Wagon?

Published 21st April 2017
Netherlands

For Philip van Ittersum, a dairy farmer based in the Netherlands, when the dairy prices came under pressure to align with the rest of Europe he needed to Rethink his feeding system. He chose Hustler’s newly released SL360X and an auger bucket…
Having enjoyed good profits from high milk prices, farmers in the Netherlands we’re thriving which made it possible for farmers with over 100 cattle to invest in a TMR wagon for feeding their balage bales, now the prices have come back, they’ve been looking for a lower cost system so they can maintain their profits. 

And that’s how Philip came across Hustler’s bale feeding systems. The beauty of the Hustler system is that not only has it enabled farms above 100 cattle to lower their investment costs, running costs, and cut feeding time in half, it’s enabling the smaller farms with less than 100 cattle to eliminate the back breaking work of grappling and pushing silage bales with a front loader, and they too can get their feeding done and dusted in just minutes from the comfort of their tractor cab. 

Philip is feeding his bales with Hustler’s SL360X bale feeder on the back of his tractor, and feeding corn silage and other wet products with his auger bucket on the front loader

 

The great thing about this is he can feed the silage/wet products

on top or below the balage to optimise uptake

in just one pass, depending on which direction he travels. 

 

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With tight and narrow barns with closed ends, the manoeuvrability of Philip’s combination of bale feeder and auger bucket compared to the conventional TMR mixer wagon makes operation much easier, and reduces damage caused by operator error and the ability to operate on the smaller 40-60Hp tractors is another winning formula. 

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