Building layout is crucial to maximise dairy cow health and welfare, ultimately increasing productivity. There are funding streams in place which can help farmers with the purchase of products for dairy sheds that can help improve cow health and welfare. Utilising these opportunities will keep fixed costs low while enhancing the dairy production system and ultimately your net margins.

Cubicles

Dairy cows will typically spend 12- 14 hours of the day lying down, which promotes milk production, rumination and reduces lameness. Therefore, ensuring cubicles are fit for purpose is paramount to encourage this. Observing the Cubicle Comfort Index, which shows how willing cows are to lie down can be useful – at least 85% of the herd should be lying down at any one time.

If your herd is not meeting this 85% the majority of time, farmers should consider what factors are causing this. Often this factor will be the cubicle facilities in the shed, and an aim should be to improve these.

Flexible cubicle barriers are becoming increasingly popular on dairy farms to improve cow comfort, they are designed to give way when a cow moves against them. This will make it easier and more inviting for cows, allowing them to sit, rise, and move around more compared to rigid cubicle barriers commonly causing lameness and bruising when space is tight. Reducing the risk of injury, through hitting solid infrastructure will encourage cows to spend longer periods of time lying down. Flexible cubicle barriers offer better space utilisation, allowing minor adjustments in cubicle size of larger and smaller cows.

Flooring

Rubber flooring mats are becoming more popular to improve cow comfort and welfare, as opposed to concrete flooring, which can be hard, abrasive and slippery. Traditional concrete flooring can induce lameness in dairy herds, causing particular conditions such as White Line Disease (WLD).

WLD comes about through the weakening of the white line area of the hoof which is typically caused due to shearing forces as cows move, mainly cornering on rough concrete. Rubber matting offers a less abrasive surface which should reduce the risk of WLD. Lameness can also occur from long periods of time standing on hard surfaces, such as concrete; offering a softer surface reduces the pressure on hooves and joints. Rubber flooring mats also offer a greater level of traction compared to concrete, which is less likely to become slippery when wet, thus reducing the risk of falling and its associated injury.

Ventilation

Dairy cows are sensitive to temperature extremes, and improper temperature regulation can result in heat stress and reduce milk production. A cows’ optimum temperature can range between 5-20°C.

When cows are the correct temperature, they are more likely to exhibit normal behaviours including laying down and eating, thus encouraging milk production.

During warm periods, enhanced ventilation and circulation using fans can help cows regulate their temperature. This will help limit the incidence of heat stress which occurs when cows cannot dissipate body heat, this results in reduced feed intake and lower milk production. Fans can also improve the air quality in a shed by dispersing ammonia and moisture which may have accumulated in poorly ventilated areas.

Grant Funding and Support

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund can offer a multitude of items to enhance your dairy cow shed ranging from rubber floor matting and flexible cubicle dividers to ventilation fans. The funding is able to support the purchase of items, providing up to 60% of the actual cost.