Reducing lameness is one of the biggest challenges for dairy producers these days. A lot of that is down to the poor state of the foot-baths on many farms – too much muck in them and too little disinfectant. But on busy dairy farms it’s hard to find the time to keep refreshing the foot-bath.

But a new system being shown by Northern Ireland company Agrihealth at Livestock Event 2014 could help. It’s a Dutch-designed system called the Vink Hoofcare Spraymat and it’s truly cunning.

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Each 40cm x 80cm mat consists of two layers, a lower red one that is essentially a bladder full of water (or mixed up water and disinfectant) and an upper one that gives grip to the cows passing over it.

Each mat has eight of these rubber one-way valves. If a cow stands on it – or even touches it – a squirt of clean water and disinfectant is directed at those otherwise hard-to-get-at places underneath the hoof.

By laying out four of these mats in a row – typically at the exit of the milking parlour or milking robot – all four hooves will have had a decent squirt of liquid before the cow reaches the end of the mats. The valves are one-way units, so there’s no danger of muck and slurry being sucked into the bladders under the mats either.

The mats are hooked up to mains water and a dosing pump keeps the pressure and concentration right. No electricity is needed and some 200 systems have been sold in European countries.

Cost is £1,950 for four mats. Extra top mats costs £350 each and the red bladder mats, which should last anything from one to several years, cost £70. The valves are easily repairable.

See also All of the news and photos from the Livestock Event 2014