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Know How / Dairy / Housing and handling

Dairy housing, handling and milking parlours are areas of major investment for a farm business. Read about the key developments in dairy buildings, robot milkers, cubicle design, bedding, hygiene, ventilation systems, calf housing and handling equipment including crushes, crates and weigh scales.

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DAIRY

How a 12,000-litre herd balances efficiency and cow welfare

A focus on optimising milking efficiency through 12 robots has created a setup that also maximises cow comfort and welfare for a large Wiltshire herd. The result is a herd…

WHATS IN YOUR LIVESTOCK SHED

What’s in Your Livestock Shed? visits a converted calf shed

Historically, a high incidence of pneumonia had impacted calf health at The Brook, Tybroughton, near Whitchurch, Shropshire, and there were consequences for performance when animals joined the milking herd. In…

LIVESTOCK

New rotary parlour improves milking efficiency

Investing in a new rotary parlour has almost halved milking times and improved milk quality at a Staffordshire dairy. Third-generation farmer Dave Eardley, who milks 520 cows at Upper House…

DAIRY

How 4 once-a-day milking options affect profitability

Reducing milking frequency to once a day can cut the workload for dairy farmers. However, a new report commissioned in Wales by Farming Connect has shown that for some businesses,…

LIVESTOCK

How a slurry digester is helping cut energy costs by 85%

A Gloucestershire dairy farm has slashed monthly energy bills by using a farm-scale anaerobic digester, alongside solar panels, to produce electricity. The technology employed at Court Farm, Kempley, also produces…

DAIRY

Video: How a new parlour improved herd efficiency and health

Investment in a rotary parlour has helped a Devon dairy maximise efficiencies during milking of its 350-head Holstein Friesian herd, with milking time slashed by more than 50%, labour burdens…

Practical advice

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DAIRY

Advice on installing a new dairy parlour

A parlour is a significant investment and should not be given the green light before carefully considering the business’s future, options and design. David Ball, lead environment specialist at the…

DAIRY

7 tips for expanding your dairy herd safely

Over the past two decades, the average UK herd size has more than doubled, and consultants say more dairy farmers are looking to expand to "stay in the game" amid…

BEEF

How to use a Bud Box system to make cattle handling easier

More British farmers are adopting the “Bud Box” principle to get cattle to turn 90deg up a single-file race or into a truck. Named after the late US rancher and…

ASSESSING PERFORMANCE

Ultra-high or low frequency EID tags: Which is best?

A debate is raging about what tag technology should be used in the UK’s national cattle traceability scheme when it eventually arrives. The stand-off is between the low frequency (LF)…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

What can be done to prevent bluetongue virus?

Insecticides and repellents will not prevent cattle and sheep from being infected with bluetongue virus, scientists are warning. Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an infectious, non-contagious virus spread by Culicoides biting…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

A guide to giving cows grazing-level comfort indoors

Grazing-based herds may be housed for as little as two or three months a year to maximise the potential of grass intakes. As a result, they often have to make…

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LIVESTOCK

Benefits of giving dairy calves toys on farm

Giving dairy calves plastic “toys” to play with helps them express their natural behaviour which, in turn, benefits their mental wellbeing. As a result, they are less likely to display…

LIVESTOCK

Best dairy bedding for minimising mastitis-causing bacterium

A study carried out at the University of Nottingham has shown sawdust to be the best bedding for minimising the survival of the mastitis-causing pathogen streptococcus uberis (S. uberis.) S.…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

Video: Inside a state-of-the-art transition cow shed

One USA dairy has converted a shed, originally built for calves, into a state-of-the-art facility for transition cows. The shed at George DeRuyter & Sons dairy in Sunnyside, Washington State,…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

Better way of measuring reveals ideal dairy cow living space

A new on-farm measurement for dairy cow buildings, known as living space, has been developed to provide a better understanding of space allowances for adult dairy cows. Researchers believe living…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

6 things I learned from visiting US 'mega-dairies'

Dairy farming in the US has become synonymous with the words “mega-dairy”. While the scale of US dairy farms bears little resemblance to UK operations, there are some striking similarities…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Research shows benefits of pair housing calves pre-weaning

Pair housing calves before weaning can help them adapt better to different situations as they mature, leading to improved concentrate intakes and higher growth compared with those housed alone. Professor…

LIVESTOCK

How to choose the right winter bedding for dairy cows

Is one bedding system better than an other in terms of cow health and production? Research carried out by the University of Wisconsin suggests not. Trial work looking at 16…

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