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Know How / Housing and handling

Advice and information on livestock housing and shed design to ensure your animals’ welfare and productivity. Compare different types of housing and bedding and read case studies on other farmers. Get tips on stock handling equipment, including cattle crushes and races, dairy parlour design and robotic milking.

Case studies

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DAIRY

'Little wins' improve milk and protein yield on Cornish farm

Milk quality has not been compromised as yields have increased on a 550-cow dairy farm near Bodmin, Cornwall. In fact, while yields at Treveglos Farm are up by 1,200 litres…

DAIRY

Grant brings 'excellent' improvements to youngstock handling

For his youngstock, spring block-calver Rupert Major installed an “excellent” curved handling facility instead of an “average” one to meet the requirements for Defra funding two years ago. Farmers Weekly…

WHATS IN YOUR LIVESTOCK SHED

What’s In Your Livestock Shed? Comfort for 50-point rotary

Prioritising cow comfort and wellbeing in the design of new housing has boosted average annual milk yield by 1,000 litres a head at a Carmarthenshire dairy farm. Features include waterbeds,…

DAIRY

Why a dairy’s succession plan includes £1.5m of debt

Giving the next generation an opportunity, not “a free ride”, by borrowing £1.5m to invest in revamping an autumn block-calving herd, has underpinned succession planning for a Wiltshire family farm.…

PIGS

How move to flexible farrowing systems worked for two farmers

Transitioning from conventional farrowing crates to flexible farrowing pens will bring many challenges, along with significant opportunities to further improve pig welfare, based on producers’ experience to date. Pig producers…

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…

Practical advice

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DAIRY

Advice on buying second-hand robotic milkers

Buying a second-hand robotic milker can help reduce start-up costs or add capacity to an existing setup. However, buyers must be aware that parts can become obsolete, new models may…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

Advice on parlour maintenance for expanding herds

Bigger herds and increased milking frequency can see some parlours operating 20 hours a day and, inevitably, that puts pressure on machinery and people. Herd expansion necessitates a complete rethink…

DAIRY

6 tips on delivering water for dairy cows

Many dairy farms have outgrown their water supply as they have increased cow numbers. Yet investment in water infrastructure often is not considered until a problem arises. Phil Evans is…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Why enough space to feed is vital for heifer health and growth

Paying attention to feed and water access for replacement heifers is the key to ensuring coccidiosis prevention works – and that youngstock can achieve their growth targets. Adding medicine such…

LIVESTOCK

What is the future for flexible farrowing systems?

Uncertainty remains about potential new farrowing system regulations requiring the industry to switch from conventional to flexible farrowing systems. These provide sows with extra space and enable them to be…

BROILERS

How heat exchangers can benefit both environment and poultry

It makes a lot of sense to reuse heat that is present in poultry housing. Warming up the incoming fresh air to provide the necessary ventilation keeps the internal atmosphere…

Insights

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DAIRY

How farmers can benefit from advances in milking tech

In the busy world of dairy farming, the milking machine is often just an everyday tool that fulfils its purpose, then is turned off and forgotten about until the next…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How data analysis helped dairy herds cut mastitis cases

A project involving multiple dairy farms across Wales has demonstrated why collecting data to establish the mastitis “red flags” specific to an individual herd can be key to reducing disease…

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…

PIGS

Pig tech promises 5-day advantage detecting coughs

A listening device that monitors coughing in pigs can alert the producer to the onset of respiratory disease up to five days earlier than farm personnel. SoundTalks, launched across the…

POULTRY

8 new products to enhance layer and broiler performance

Margins are under pressure like never before in the poultry sector, which faces high input costs and static prices, and some businesses are operating at a loss. Could it be…

LIVESTOCK

How rising costs threaten future of Icelandic sheep farming

Tough and resilient – the farmers in Iceland are much like the sheep they have bred to cope with the rugged terrain and sub-Arctic winter conditions. But many, like 44-year-old…

POULTRY

The poultry industry's response to total cage ban proposals

A strong industry response to a vocal home-grown animal welfare lobby has already propelled the UK to the forefront of the global move away from cage systems. Despite that, pressure…

POULTRY

Why the industry is fighting Defra's poultry transport plans

Parts of the broiler industry could be severely threatened unless the government adopts a more commonsense approach to Defra’s Improvements to Animal Welfare in Transport consultation, according to the NFU.…

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.…

POULTRY

A guide to improving poultry shed insulation

Good insulation will keep poultry housing at an even temperature throughout the seasons, reducing heating and ventilation costs. However, older types of insulation may be less efficient due to outdated…

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,…

LAYERS

A poultrykeeper's guide to ground-source heat pumps

With farm carbon emissions under the spotlight and an increasing emphasis on sustainable agriculture, many producers are moving away from fossil fuels. Ground-source heat pumps offer a good solution for…

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