Manawatu based company Redpath have been busy constructing clear roofed feedpad shelters for Southland farmers and also further afield says director Glen Williams “the company has seen a real lift this year in the installation of its specialized clear roofed shelters particularly for its compostbarns cow homes” The tighter economic times appears to be driving the demand for feedpad covers as farmers look at ways of how their businesses can operate more efficiently and get a greater return form the current sized herds or options that allow the farm to run an increased herd size on the farm.
Many farmers are instantly reaping the benefits of holding cows in a warm dry shelter when the weather is poor and the paddocks need to be protected form compaction (pugging). “Feeding the cows inside a Redpath shelter also means much less feed waste and much greater returns for the investment in feed & supplements – the company claims, as the cows energy use is considerably reduced when housed inside the shelter. “ We are seeing nothing but positive feedback from farmers in Southland and also in Taranaki where our shelters are also becoming quite popular” Glen says. The company typically constructs its shelters over existing feedpads or on new sites or farm conversions.
An area of importance is the flooring material chosen by the farmer. “Concrete floor systems have limitations”, in some instances they can be quite uncomfortable for cows to stand on for longer periods” “We are seeing a resurgence in soft floor systems – particularly as it appears farmers are wanting to hold cows off the paddocks for longer periods of time or for calving.” This has seen the development into a more controlled compost floor type system Redpath say”
Compost-bedded are effectively soft floor barns that allow for greatly increased dairy-cow comfort. The cows spend much of their time eating or resting up and/or chewing their cud. The cost for the soft litter (woodchips/postpeelings etc) has in the past been a problem – but now there are a number of companies that turn up on site & will chip trees taken from on farm shelter which reduces the cost by over 60%. “Farmers can maximize the service life of the floor litter by regularly tilling or aerating it - which helps to keep the flooring litter dry & disease free and introduces oxygen to enhance composting and aerobic decomposition. “We are seeing the soft litter flooring last for 12-18months in this scenario and this also makes this flooring option much more cost effective”. The “Compostbarn” litter acts as a very effective manure and urine storage facility as effluent soaks into the litter material. It can then be applied to the land or even bagged up and sold into the marketplace as compost. The litter that comes out of the barn is kept mostly dry by the clear Durashelter roofing and is a healthy friable material offering excellent slow release nutrients properties to the farm soil and adding humus.
Keeping the nutrients/effluent locked up in the litter maintains an almost nil-runoff of effluent from the feedpad and makes the clear roofed shelter option an extremely environmentally friendly option. “Covering the pad keeps 95% of the rainwater off the pad & this has a dramatic effect on the amount of water / effluent that is washed away from the area. This becomes quite an important matter as the intensity of effluent build-up on a feedpad can be quite high, especially if cows are being held for longer periods of time – Glen says.
Compost barns will typically have a stocking rate of 5 – 7 sq/m floor area per cow. The bedding material choices are typically Woodchips, Bark Mixes, Post peelings, Corn stalks, Straw, Sand, or Pumice etc - or any of these medias combined.
Sawdust is occasionally used by some to be not recommended because the bacteria growth environmental mastitis may occur and thus increase the teat exposure to pathogens. However - in the composting bedded-pack, microbial growth is encouraged and this will increase the composting bedded pack temperature helping to inactivate the pathogens. An added bonus of this system is that odors are also reduced greatly. Redpath say that with any barn held cow, a good cleaning system should be in place for the cows before processing/milking.
Redpath Compostbarns are constructed from all steel materials, hot dipped finish for poles & bolted connections for the main structure they also feature a heavy duty clear roofing membrane called Durashelter. The clear Durashelter offers a superior service life of typically ten years and gives high levels of PAR* light transmission (*Photosynthetic Active Radiation) for substantially improved composting and to help keep the litter and effluent disease free & dry. Glen adds - “The Durashelter roof covering plays a very big part in the operation of the shelter, the comfort level of the cows and the health of the flooring litter generally, Durashelter promotes infra-red energy entrapment within the structure and increases the speed of the natural floor composting process, whilst at the same time promoting the rapid evaporation of moisture from effluent and maintaining a dryer and healthier floor surface. This type of light is also important to promote cow health, in that it effectively provides an “outdoor environment” indoors, making the cows feel that they are in a natural environment keeping stress levels low and weight gain high”
The cost of a Compostbarns is surprisingly cost effective and can be a functional solution to farms that wish to expand their current feedpad or standoffpad management process. Compost barns have generic lower costs than traditional hard floor cow housing primarily because the flooring material is at much reduced cost and also the barn is designed as an “open plan unit” for the cows to wander and rest as they please. Redpath often supply the shelters with a feed-protection eave which hangs out from the top of each sidewall for the shelters full length, - this they say allows the farmer to speedily distribute feed with a side throw feed-wagon from the outside of the structure. The cows then lean out through the sidewall to feed. Compostbarn costs are also reduced due to the reduced amount of concrete for manure alleys and curbing. The structure costs can be as little as NZ$330* per cow, whilst the flooring and other infrastructural costs can vary dependant on type used and local availability. Typically though it would not exceed NZ$500* per cow.
Contact the local Southland Builder Rodney Diack (based in Edendale 0274 4481760)
