Adequate water supply with quality drinking troughs

Text by Étienne Gosselin, agronomist, M. SC.

Sturdy and effective, individual and group drinking troughs by the polymoule company enters the canadian market with an exclusive partnership with Groupe BMR - products for farmers and designed by farmers!

Getting used to Quebec’s climate, the son of a farmer from the Pays De La Loire region who has participated in multiple Canadian Trade Shows, Jérôme Cosnet has paved the way to changing the way we raise our herds and offer them water. “I love putting myself in the shoes of farmers just as much as the distributers, such as Groupe BMR, who sells our polyethylene products like our drinking troughs”, explains the general director of the Cosnet Industries and its affiliate company, Polymoule.

The company created the La Gée brand, named after the bordering channel at Coulans-sur-Gée, near the Cosnet Industries’ head office, which produces rotomolded and injection based polyethylene products as well as metal type products. “Awaited with the greatest excitement for the 2017 Expo Champs in the Agrizone kiosk, La Gée products seduced more than a few curious farmers wanting to discover the brand’s innovative thinking, comparing it to available drinking troughs in Québec”, explains Miss Audrey Poirier-Lemay, buyer at Groupe BMR.

Adapted drinking troughs

Steel drinking troughs were the norm in the bovine sector for the past four to five years, explains Jérôme Cosnet. Lower in cost and more resistant than steel, polymers are breaking ground. “We’re not changing our primary need to have clean and sufficient water available - whether it’s made from polyethylene or steel. What we’re changing is the size of the structure and the configuration.” Today, drinking troughs must offer a water flow of 15 to 18 liters of water per minute, especially for bovines.

Choosing the right drinking trough, placed at the right location and for the right animal is imperative. When exiting the milking parlor, some cows will inhale up to 40% of their daily water intake! Access to a watering point and with the right quantity are fundamental aspects for productivity. For example, group drinking troughs for these areas wouldn’t be the same model as those being used in stalls or in calving pens.

Unique drinking troughs

What makes the La Gée products unique? “Their unique concept!” exclaims the Frenchman. The drinking troughs’ characteristics, offered in more than 30 models with adjustable water flows, have been adjusted after observing various animal tendencies and habits. Drinking troughs for calves incline towards the back so that water accumulates near the paddle forcing the animal to push on the paddle to receive fresh drinking water.

Cleaning these troughs is a breeze due to the plugs at the bottom allowing for a complete draining of the bowl. Cleaning the filter is just as simple, taking a few seconds. No tools are required, and the valve doesn’t need to be removed - a patented innovation. You can easily add an anti lapping border made of metal, to keep the animal from playing with and wasting water. Since the drinking trough is installed with a gap against the wall, water inlets are protected from every side. When it comes to maintenance, La Gée replacement parts (joints, filters, springs, etc.) are identical from one model to the other. Anyone can replace them as they do not need instruction manuals!

Are reinventing drinking troughs similar to reinventing the wheel? According to Jérôme Cosnet: not really. Taking pleasure in explaining the innovation behind these equipments, often taken for granted, he mentions: “What I love about my job is inventing products and discovering new places, meeting new and current clients.” An easy statement coming from the businessman who ships in more than 45 countries!

Source : « De l'eau en quantité dans des abreuvoirs de qualité » Coopérateur. November-December 2017 : page 46.