Extension > Agriculture > Dairy Extension > Facilities > Loose Housing Bedding Options
Loose Housing Bedding Options
Published in Dairy Star June 18, 2010
There are many questions that need to be answered when considering the differences among the options available in deciding on a bedding system for a dairy herd. Do we install freestalls, or a bedding pack system? Do we use rubber mats, chopped grass/straw, sawdust, or sand? How do we handle the manure: daily haul, short-term storage, or a long-term pit? What is our highest priority: minimum labor or cow comfort? Finally, what are the economic consequences of these options? Let's look at several points to sort it out based on some actual research, experiences, and farm observations.
- Bedding system. Bedding packs offer the advantage of simultaneously providing the bedding and the manure storage in the same location. A conventional bedding pack uses chopped grass, straw, or corn stover. A compost bedding pack involves deep tilling a sawdust-based pack at least twice per day. Deep-bedded freestalls require at least five inches of chopped grass, straw, corn stover, or some other form of chopped material. A freestall barn forces the farm into daily haul, or having separate short or long-term manure storage. Using sand in a pen provides some short-term storage but requires frequent maintenance and cleaning.
- Cow comfort. A sand pen or a well-managed bedding pack, conventional or compost, seem to be the most comfortable for the cows. Very close behind are both deep-bedded and sand-bedded freestalls. Any type of a mat in freestalls with an inch or so of bedding on top tend to provide the most feet and leg challenges.
- Somatic cell count (SCC). Keeping the SCC low has recently taken on new dimensions. Overall, sand-bedded freestalls seem do the best job for SCC control, followed by freestalls with mats. Using deep-bedded freestalls or any bedding pack system provides SCC challenges for many producers; however, several producers also seem to maintain reasonable SCC with these systems.
- Bedding cost per cow. Freestalls with mats or sand are the cheapest, ranging from ten to thirty cents per cow per day. Deep-bedded freestalls and a sand pen will be slightly more expensive followed by a conventional bedding pack. A compost bedding pack is usually the most expensive system with costs frequently over one dollar per cow per day. Another financial consideration is that sawdust, grass, straw, corn stalks, and other plant-based bedding are all potential sources for cellulosic alcohol so their market price will likely increase in the future.
- Bedding handling labor. Both freestalls with mats and sand-bedded freestalls require grooming/cleaning during each milking shift. Deep-bedded freestalls still allow the use of many conventional manure pit systems but require more labor than mats or sand. All bedding packs require either daily recharging or tilling, and both require periodic cleanout. A compost pack will create less volume at cleanout than a conventional bedding pack. However, the volume of manure from several hundred cattle on bedding packs can be overwhelming at cleanout. Sand pens are labor intense requiring considerable maintenance and cleaning. Handling sand-based manure can present challenges if one is attempting to adapt it to a typical liquid manure pit system. Sand is also abrasive on equipment.
- Sand-bedded freestalls. According to the 2009 Minnesota FINBIN (farm financial and production benchmark information) results, dairy farms with sand bedding had almost a 4,000 pound higher DHIA Rolling Herd Average than freestall barns without sand. Dairy farms switching to sand also report dramatically reduced feet and leg problems, lower SCC, and lower culling rates. Sand also provides a gritty surface on the cow walkways, which eliminates most of the cattle slipping on wet cement. With technology such as sand separators and sand lanes, dairy producers are able to reuse the sand as bedding again. Economics usually do not allow installing a sand recovery system until there are a few hundred cattle involved.
- Reusing separated solids. Another option is reusing separated solids whether pre-digested or raw. This can potentially offer financial savings over many of the described systems but has presented SCC challenges in many, but not all, situations. We need more research to determine specific recommendations.
- Reusing separated solids. Another option is reusing separated solids whether pre-digested or raw. This can potentially offer financial savings over many of the described systems but has presented SCC challenges in many, but not all, situations. We need more research to determine specific recommendations.
So which is the best loose housing bedding option? It depends on a number of factors outlined in this article as well as your present housing and equipment, herd size, manure management plan options, short- and long-term goals, and preference. In addition, the bedding option used must fit into the overall system developed for a farm. All systems require good management to work to their full potential.
