Ned Kelly, a seasoned farmer from Ballycommon, Co. Tipperary reflects on his six-year journey with the JFC Evolution Automatic Calf Feeder, installed back in 2018.
At the time, Ned met Declan, part of the installation team, at the National Ploughing Championships where the Evolution Automatic Calf Feeder was featured.
Intrigued by the promises of efficiency and consistency, Ned decided to try it for his calf-feeding operations, which, up until then, relied on a traditional 10-teat feeder.
This year, Ned caught up with Declan, the Evolution sales manager at the National Ploughing Championships after six seasons have passed, Ned saw the transformative changes on his farm.
Nearly 1,000 calves have been fed using the Evolution calf feeder. The device distributed the precise amount of feed to each calf, eliminating the inconsistencies he faced with his old system.
This consistency produced healthier, more uniform calves and Ned noted how it dramatically reduced his labour demands.
Where he once spent over an hour each morning mixing feeds, feeding calves and cleaning up, he has now simply topped up the machine and monitored its digital screen.
Automatic calf feeder
The automatic calf feeder even helped Ned keep his calves healthier. The machine tracked each calf’s intake, so if a calf began drinking less, Ned would get an early warning, often catching health issues before they became serious.
He found this proactive approach to calf health invaluable: “You could treat an aliment before [they’re] fully gone downhill,” he said.
Beyond the daily convenience, Ned was particularly impressed with the customer service that came with his Evolution Automatic Calf Feeder.
Anytime he needed assistance, a service team would be at his farm in under two hours, ensuring the machine was quickly back in operation. Ned never experienced any prolonged downtime, which he found reassuring and critical to his farm’s productivity.
“The service is top class”, Ned stressed.
Despite his initial hesitation, Ned now wholeheartedly endorses the Evolution Automatic Calf Feeder, seeing it as a worthwhile investment that paid for itself in saved labour and improved calf health.
Supporting an Irish-made product was a point of pride for him as well and even his father, who had been sceptical of new technology, soon became one of the feeder’s biggest advocates, proudly showing it off to visiting farmers.
Today, Ned looks back on his decision with satisfaction. The Evolution feeder didn’t just change the way he fed his calves; it transformed his entire approach to calf-rearing, offering him peace of mind, healthier calves, and a lighter workload.
Ned’s story is one of embracing innovation and seeing firsthand the lasting benefits it brings.
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