Rista dairy farm in Sweden faced problems with a bacterial biofilm in its cows drinking water tubs. The solution was Anolytech’s sustainable system for disinfecting water without chemicals harmful to animals and humans.
The Gunnarsson family are farmers since four generations. Together with his wife Kristina and sons Kenneth and Krister, Karl-Gunnar runs two farms outside Uppsala in Sweden.
Krister is responsible for crop production and Kenneth for husbandry of in total 350 animals, of which 200 are diary cows. The farm is part of a breeding program, aiming at raising healthier animals producing more milk, by cross-breeding Holstein, SLB and Montbeliarde. The ambition level is high and animal health an important priority.
– Supply of fresh water is of utmost importance to us. Four own wells provide the water we need. At heavy rain and spring ice release, we often face problems with surface water leading to biofilm with bacteria in the cows water tanks, says Kenneth.
According to him, they need to handle the contaminated biofilm in order to keep the cows healthy. If they do not, the cows get infected by bacteria in the biofilm, making them sick, raising cost of antibiotics and veterinary support and lowering the compensation from diary ARLA. Also, the cows need to waste energy on handling bacteria and virus.
– With the Anolytech system in place, biofilm in the cows drinking water is gone. The result is healthier animals with improved udder status and less occurrence of acute mastitis.
Climate friendly solution replaced harmful chemicals
When investing in a new barn in 2012, bacteria growth was initially handled with occasional use of harmful chemicals. In 2014, this shifted to continous use of Anolytech’s climate friendly system using AnoDes.
– It’s really great for the environment that we’ve replaced harmful chemicals with AnoDes. Another very positive outcome of this is that we avoid the handling of environmentally hazardous substances and their packaging.
Certification builds trustworthiness
As Anolytech started back in 2005, there were many sceptical voices regarding it’s sustainable method for disinfecting water without using harmful chemicals. 16 years later, a commonly increased environmental awareness is paving the way for a game changing shift towards disinfection based on Anolytech’s sustainable solution instead of using traditional chemicals.
AnoDes is used within different areas where fighting unwanted bacteria like Campylobacter, Cyanobacteria, Escherichia coli and Legionella pneumophila is needed. One important reason is that it’s very effective without being harmful to animals and humans.
The fact that Anolytech’s technique has been certified according to leading standards regarding hand and surface disinfection, contributes to the increased demand from clients in new markets and segments.
