Nordjylland: Driver took over route and got talking to local farmers

It’s sometimes a race against time to get around the 50 or so stops on the route that a normal working day offers. Still, driver Kennet Karlsen takes time to talk to farmers when he picks up their dead animals.

Kennet Karlsen has been driving for seven years, including the last three years collecting dead animals for Daka. Family life demanded more hours at home, so Kennet wanted to swap his work driving export goods across Europe for driving on the North Jutland highways with evenings spent at home with his family.

“The woman at home wanted me to come home. So now I start at five in the morning collecting animals. And after a working day of 7-9 hours, I drive to Randers and deliver two filled boxes to Daka,” says Kennet Karlsen.

His father also drove for Daka for a good 10 years, so despite only three years’ experience, he knows what he’s doing. And it takes timing to get it all done.

There are about 50 stops on the route and with a route that stretches from Hjørring, around Brovst and down again to Brønderslev, that leaves just two minutes to load the animals at each stop, he explains.

“I think many farmers are good at signing up, but there are also places where things are really bad. If they sign up just one animal and you end up with big heaps, the pick-up times are not respected. That can be problematic for those who need to pick up animals at the end of the route – because I might not have room in the van.”

After three years, however, there have been big changes at several of the farms, the driver believes.

A good chat is a good investment

Three years ago, when Kennet Karlsen took over the route, he found that farmers did not trust him. He found that some pick-up points were either overcrowded or animals were not put out in time. Pick-up points could also be impassable.

“In a week, there might be a few or three that were lagging behind. When I got the chance, we’d have a quick chat with them. They were always understanding when I explained my situation – for example, it could be trees that needed pruning around the site so we could get to them with the claw,” he says.

Good visibility and quick, not to mention accurate, notification are essential if the driver is to make it to all the stops on his route. That’s why he likes to invest in a good relationship with the farmers on the route.

“I like to take a few extra minutes, because I can make up for it another time. It might take five minutes to have a chat, but with good visibility after the trees have been pruned, I can load lightning fast the next few times. Then I might save 10 minutes in the end.”

Good advice for winter

The use of carcass capping is most optimal as a cover. Plastic sheeting indirectly contributes to the risk of infection because the driver has to step off the truck to unwind the claw. This can help carry the infection to the next farm.

“When tarpaulins are used for covering, it’s a big challenge for us drivers. Of course, that’s both because it often forces us off the truck, but a piece of plastic like that also breaks easily. Here, a container or a cadaver cover is much more durable. A tarpaulin might need to be changed several times in a year, so an investment in a body cover is better spent,” says the driver.

Especially in winter, the claw can damage piglet containers, which are made of thicker plastic. And Kennet Karlsen has some good advice.

“The piglet container can freeze over and then the plastic becomes very hard. This makes the container crack easily when we grab it. That’s why it’s a good idea to put salt in it, so it doesn’t freeze and it lasts longer.”

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Kontakt

Farmers Consultant

Lars Jørgen Nielsen

E-Mail: ljn@daka.dk
Phone: +45 5156 4092
Mobile: +45 5156 4692