Green bedding for dairy cubicles

[Farm2000]

We have been using green bedding (from our own dairy slurry) for just over 2 weeks now. No cases of mastitis in our 250 cows and cell counts and bactoscan haven't changed 180 and 20 respectively. Anyone else using this system? How is it going for you?

 

[roscoe erf]

View attachment 17484
We have been using green bedding (from our own dairy slurry) for just over 2 weeks now. No cases of mastitis in our 250 cows and cell counts and bactoscan haven't changed 180 and 20 respectively. Anyone else using this system? How is it going for you?

They look happy

 

[Farm2000]

Very. Milking takes an extra 10 minutes now as we can't get them out - too comfortable!

 

[bigw]

Really interested to hear how you get on with it as i would like to install one too at some point. I have heard really good reports about it.

 

[Farm2000]

bigw, so far couldn't be more pleased. Used to use sawdust on mattresses. Since switching the cows are so much cleaner, and as it is free, we are using much more bedding. Just installed 80 new cubicles and are going to trial with no mattress. Put a 3 inch timber on heel stone and will use extra 3/4 inches of bedding. Went to see a chap in Annon who has been using it like this, and he has had no problems at all.

 

[Blue.]

bigw, so far couldn't be more pleased. Used to use sawdust on mattresses. Since switching the cows are so much cleaner, and as it is free, we are using much more bedding. Just installed 80 new cubicles and are going to trial with no mattress. Put a 3 inch timber on heel stone and will use extra 3/4 inches of bedding. Went to see a chap in Annon who has been using it like this, and he has had no problems at all.

How are you recovering it?

 

[Farm2000]

Scraping cubicle passageways into a collection pit where we are adding water and mixing before pumping into an EYS screw press which is mounted on the roof of a collection compound. Sounds daft, but adding a bit of water gives cleaner, dryer bedding.

 

[Blue.]

How long do you leave it before you use it?

 

[Farm2000]

We bed down three times a week. It's presses in the morning, and used that afternoon. Has to be used straight away. If you leave it heaped up it starts to get hot.

 

[cattow]

Which model EYS are you using ?

 

[Blue.]

We bed down three times a week. It's presses in the morning, and used that afternoon. Has to be used straight away. If you leave it heaped up it starts to get hot.

Do you not want it to heat up and kill the bugs?

How do you bed,ag dispenser?

 

[Farm2000]

Cattle, to be honest, not sure of the model, it's a new machine from Storth machinery. Think there is only one other in the country operating. Based very much on the Bauer Fan press, of which there are about half a dozen working.

 

[Farm2000]

eulb, we don't want heat as it encourages too much bacteria. The theory is that any bacteria that is present is from the cows themselves, hence they already have immunity to them. We are using a Flingt bedder. Similar to the ag dispenser, which we are very impressed with also.

 

[llamedos]

 

[jimmer]

we looked into it a bit but not gone for it
definately something for the future here though

 

[bigw]

How does it compare with the bauer machine on price?

 

[snowhite]

what does the whole system cost ?
i have heard of farmers doing this in the US with some years ,
would silage and straw pulled in to the passageway have to be kept out of the collection area, ?

 

[cattow]

We are in the process of installing an EYS slurry separator time will tell if we have missed a trick good luck with it

 

[Farm2000]

bigw, bauer claimed to get 36% DM, where storth Claims up to 42%. Deciding factor for us was an unnamed company came to price us up for the Bauer, but told us not to have it, and go for the storth! He could sell the Storth, but 'politics' would make it hard for him unless we demanded it. In the end we went direct. He claimed it was stronger made, and spares were far cheaper.

 

[Farm2000]

what does the whole system cost ?
i have heard of farmers doing this in the US with some years ,
would silage and straw pulled in to the passageway have to be kept out of the collection area, ?

Snowhite, the Bauer was looking at £50k. Not sure on the true price of the Storth as we were heavily discounted as we were the first, and they wanted one up and running. We do keep solids / straw out of the muck, but for a bit extra I think you can have a stirrer pump with a chopper built in. Sounds expensive but it is saving us over 10k a year in sawdust, and the price of that only seems to go up, and we can use far more bedding. Also we are left with a liquid slurry, full of all the goodness that we can umbilical onto land and use more efficiently.