Dairy
Managing dairy effluent is one of the most challenging tasks in dairy herd management. Proper bedding management aids in keeping cows clean and healthy. Keeping cows dry, stress-free and clean helps to ensure higher milk yields.
What is the best bedding material for dairy cows?
There are several bedding materials that can be used for dairy cows, including organic materials such as straw, sawdust, recycled and dried manure solids, as well as inorganic material such as sand.
Sand is considered the gold standard for dairy cow bedding for a variety of reasons. As an inorganic material, sand does not promote bacteria growth. It is moisture wicking, provides good drainage, and helps the cows to stay cleaner and drier. Sand is abrasive and provides better traction in the stalls to reduce injury and improve hoof health.
To ensure optimal comfort when using sand bedding, maintain a bed depth of 6 to 8 inches minimum and ensure adequate drainage to keep stalls dry, which helps to minimize pathogens in damp bedding.
Read more on Tips for Improving Dairy Cow Bedding.
How do I create drier bedding for my dairy freestalls?
Keeping dairy cows dry and pathogen-free is key to their health and milk production capabilities. Studies from the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute have shown that cows that rest for longer periods of time produce more milk – up to 3.5 more pounds of milk per cow per day per additional hour of lying time after 10 hours. Clean, dry stalls will encourage cows to lie down more often and for longer periods of time. Drier bedding can be achieved using a variety of methods during bedding and freestall management including Stall Groomers, Screw Presses, Shaker Screens and Bedding Dryers.
Popular Questions
What is the best type of sand for dairy cow bedding?
Concrete sand, also known as 30-50 sand, is the preferred sand type for most farms. It is widely available and contains a good mix of particle sizes ideal for cow comfort, cleanliness and sand separation.
Can I bed on sand and have an anaerobic digester?
Sand-manure separation can be used to pre-treat sand-laden manure by separating sand prior to anaerobic digestion. Without separation beforehand, sand bedding is incompatible with anaerobic digestion systems.
How can I recover bedding material from my manure stream?
A Sand Manure Separation System or Sand Lane System can be used to recover sand from the manure stream for recycling and reuse.
Benefits of working with McLanahan
Lower mastitis counts
Manage less mastitis cases in your herd by reducing bacterial growth in bedding. Keeping teats dry and clean will lower infections contracted from bacteria in bedding types with excess moisture. McLanahan’s dairy solutions can help achieve lower cases of mastitis through producing cleaner, drier bedding with less pathogens present.
More comfortable cows, higher milk production
Minimizing stress in the herd is important to ensure that cows remain in good health and production is high. Stress in dairy cows can lead to reduced milk yield, poor growth and development, and cause other health problems such as digestive disorders, respiratory issues, reproductive difficulties and immune system deficiency. Keeping your herd as comfortable as possible reduces stress on the cows and increases milk yield and milk quality. McLanahan can help producers keep their herds comfortable and clean, allowing them to get back to what they do best – producing milk.
Minimize wear and tear on manure handling equipment
Removing sand from the manure stream can help to prolong the life of equipment in several ways including wear prevention, reduced blockages, decreased operating costs and improved equipment performance. McLanahan can provide a range of solutions to help producers reclaim sand and manure for reuse and to minimize waste - everything from Sand Manure Separation Systems to extract sand from manure and prevent clogging and binding of further downstream equipment to Bedding Dryers that can be used to remove excess moisture from various recycled bedding materials to Stall Groomers that are used to help maintain comfortable, clean bedding in freestalls.
