Anyone got their herd indoors ??

[curlietailz]

Asking for help....I’m a regular contributor on the Arable forum and Agriculture forum but rarely come over here with you Dairy boys ( and girls) but I have a friend who’s doing a Masters at Leeds Uni and she’s looking for a dairy farm who keeps their cows indoors 24/7
The project is on investigating micro plastics and she needs to sample the cow poo, the feedstuff and ideally the soil where the slurry/manure is spread
It’s tracing if there is any micro plastic in the cattle fodder and if/where travels to

Ideally somewhere near Leeds or Durham but anywhere would be considered

If you could help please Direct Message me and I’ll pass your details on

Thanks

 

[dairyrow]

Thought feed companies put a certain amount of plastic in feed to get rid of it.

 

[curlietailz]

Well if they do my friend will be able to analyse it and find out where it goes to. X

 

[Cowmansam]

I suspect you might struggle to find volunteers as this has the wif of another stick to beat us with once it’s comes out cows spread micro plastics as I’m sure they do as they are everywhere

 

[curlietailz]

I suspect you might struggle to find volunteers as this has the wif of another stick to beat us with once it’s comes out cows spread micro plastics as I’m sure they do as they are everywhere

Kinda thinking that the research will be more about seeing if there is any plastic in the cow food and if there is how to prevent it getting into the cow food in the first place. An indoor herd has less variables
As a rural girl she won’t be farmer bashing
But as a farmer Myself ( who’s always sceptical ) I get where your coming from

 

[Cowmansam]

Problem isn’t what her intentions are but what’s then done with the information afterwards can just see that as the next red tractor requirement measure your micro plastic output or what have you

 

[curlietailz]

I’m saying most plastic in soils is windblown human rubbish. Especially plastic bags, balloons, fast food cartons, plastic bottles and crisp packets.
we haven’t applied anything other than bagged ferti to our arable soils for decades and it’s got plastic shrapnel mixed amongst it.
so a level of plastic in the background anyway
I’d be quite surprised if any/very much came from cow poo actually

 

[Sid]

Micro plastic in cows?

In grazing herds some would come from astro turf on cow tracks, who would have thought it?

 

[Cowmansam]

Or sewage sludge spread in maize land

 

[sidjon]

Or bread waste, sweet waste , straw ,hay

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Micro plastic in cows?

In grazing herds some would come from astro turf on cow tracks, who would have thought it?

I think anyone who wants to put astro turf on their farm is silly, as it is a product that would have to be disposed of otherwise. I would worry about micro plastics myself.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I am sure I heard somewhere that they have discovered bacteria that consume plastics, and they found those bacteria in cows stomachs

 

[curlietailz]

I am sure I heard somewhere that they have discovered bacteria that consume plastics, and they found those bacteria in cows stomachs

Hey thanks
That might be a useful angle

 

[Big Thumb]

Dung screen, that will eliminate the feed angle and plastic if it exits. Probably not the most glamorous place to research for you friend, but screening muck for plastic would be easy to do.