Pig farmer Karel van Deursen talks about Watter system

In the magazine Nieuwe Oogst, edition July 6, 2019, pig farmer Karel van Deursen shares his experiences with Watter.

Clean drinking water for pigs leads to better milk yield and growth

The importance of clean drinking water is increasingly recognized. At Karel van Deursen's farm in Asten, this has had a positive effect on the milk yield of sows and the growth of fattening pigs. "Things are just running smoother now," says the pig farmer.

Since November 2018, Van Deursen has been disinfecting drinking water with Watter. Before that, he used various other products to improve water quality; among other things, the bacterial count and yeasts were too high. "But those products involve chemicals, and I wanted to get away from that."

Van Deursen visited several colleagues who have been using Watter for a longer time. What he saw appealed to him. "The machine is expensive, but the operating costs are low. If I depreciate the device over five years, all costs amount to 30 cents per piglet." Water quality was measured when the machine was installed and again six weeks later.

Effect is visible everywhere

Van Deursen sees the effect of clean drinking water in all pig groups. With the fattening pigs, he observed an 80-gram better growth per animal per day in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. With the sows, Van Deursen weans half a piglet extra per sow in the last six months.

When asked if this can solely be attributed to water quality, the pig farmer answers that it's always difficult to prove conclusively. "But because the water is clean, the animal doesn't have to spend energy fighting against pathogens. Things are just running smoother now, and it also shows up numerically."

Would you like to read more about experiences with Watter? Click here to read about pig farmer Gerard Scholman's experience with the Watter machine.

Curious about the Watter machine? Here you can read more about the Watter machine and Nontox.

View here what Watter can offer in combating Salmonella or Biofilm.