Eurotier Innovation Awards: CowToilet awarded gold

The CowToilet, created by Hanskamp AgroTech BV, has been awarded the Gold Medal at the Eurotier 2021 Innovation Awards.

The reduction of emissions from animal production is becoming increasingly more important. While measures to tackle this issue have long targeted the emissions that arise in animal housing, the current focus is increasingly aimed at reducing their occurrence in the first place, either technically or at process level, preventatively wherever possible. Additionally, dairy farmers are obliged to look for potential ways of reducing ammonia emissions and effectively implement them. A high volume of ammonia is produced in dairy farming, notably from the 15 to 20 litres of urine that a cow produces each day.

The CowToilet developed by Hanskamp, a company based in the Netherlands, is an innovative system which consists of a feeding station and a collection facility for the urine. At the end of feed output, an external stimulus is used to trigger the urination reflex and the urine is then collected. In an innovative and intelligent manner, the Hanskamp CowToilet collects the urine directly and separately from the cow without causing stress to the animal.

The formation of ammonia on the floors is reduced thanks to the early separation of faeces and urine. The floors also remain cleaner, which has a positive impact both on hoof health and on the air quality in the animal housing. In addition, the farmer has the choice to use the separately collected faeces and urine in a targeted way in either crop production or power generation, which further increases nutrient efficiency.