Eight companies are vying to win this year’s prestigious RABDF Livestock and Machinery Equipment awards. David Cousins looks at what they each involve.

Kitt Kraiburg Mensch trailer side-shooter

The trailer side-shooter from US manufacturer Mensch (pictured right) is reckoned to be the biggest sand dispenser on the market. It can dispense 12t of sand in just 2.5 minutes, thereby turning what is normally a labour-intensive, slow job of bedding up cubicles into a highly time and labour-efficient process.

The main conveyor transfers bedding to a cross conveyor with a high-speed track that can dispense from either side of the vehicle with a range of 1-8m, making it easy to adapt to different building sizes. Flow control, rpm speed and cross conveyor angle can all be easily adjusted and an optional in-cab remote control is an option.

It has self-contained hydraulics with an oil reservoir so it is not reliant on the tractor’s hydraulics. Triple-sealed bearings on the cross conveyor are designed to reduce abrasion from the sand and there is also potential for using it for other applications such as dispensing aggregate or manure.

KVK hoof trimming chute

Getting the right working posture for the person doing the hoof trimming and causing the least discomfort for livestock are the key components of trimming systems.

The Danish-made KVK Chute ensures that cows balance correctly on all four hooves and soles, preventing damage to the horn tissue. That means livestock with correctly trimmed hooves are healthy and strong.

A hydraulic lift adjusts the chute’s working height and effective light sources are provided at all working sites. Hoof support plates hold the foot rigid, making for safe trimming for both trimmer and cow.

Checking hooves regularly and trimming when necessary are an important part of cow welfare. After infertility and mastitis, lameness is the third most common reason for culling cows on dairy farms. Lameness is estimated to cost roughly £170 a cow, adding up to roughly £4,000/year for the average 100-cow herd.

Agrihealth Vink HoofCare SprayMat

Designed to deal with contagious diseases, especially in a robotic milking system, the Dutch-designed SprayMat consists of a series of layered rubber mats that provide a constant flow of water through a series of nozzles.

The water can be mixed with medication or disinfectants and the liquid can only flow in one direction. The mat is ideally positioned at the exit of the parlour or milking robot, where animals cross it several times a day.

When the cow steps on a nozzle, a valve opens and water sprays against the foot. The pressure and height of the jet can also be adjusted.

Each mat measures 80cm x 40cm and four mats are needed to give a length of 160cm. This is sufficient for four hooves to be sprayed when the cow crosses the mat. No mat maintenance is needed and they can be left in position permanently.

Northern Engineering Cow Tipper Corral

This Irish-made Cow Tipper Corral is a multi-cow unit that organises cows quickly and easily into line for hoof trimming and other veterinary procedures.

It is designed to suit the cows’ natural instinct that, when enclosed in a space, they will find and use an exit. When the first cow leaves the corral using the exit, the rest will want to follow.

The Cow Tipper Corral has a purpose-built exit that allows the animals to find their way through the corral to the crush and, using a hydraulic rump-rail, be guided into the crush for treatment. This “escape route” is designed by using gates in a circular pattern so that the leading cow doesn’t see the exit until she reaches the crush.

The following cow will be held back with a gate until the operator is finished with the previous one. This speeds up the procedure, saves time and labour and is less stressful for both the animal and operator.

Gera UvMilk sock filters

Russian company Gera produces UvMilk filters that give very fine cleaning of milk. Using relatively simple filtering equipment, it removes 98% of very small, foreign particles without having to use complicated and costly equipment.
This year the company has developed new disposable sock filters that can be installed on regular housings. The potential market, says the company, is everything from dairy producers to milk factories.

The filters give a relatively simple way of raising milk grades, thereby increasing its quality, hygiene and potential price achieved. Also, the price of the sock filters is the same as regular sock filters, but with much higher filtering ability, says the company.

No special servicing is needed. The filters are disposable and are changed after each milking.

Quill Hoof-Spray system

British company Quill Productions has come up with a hoof-spray system to tackle digital dermatitis in the milking parlour. This is applied to cows’ hooves without the need for lifting their feet.

A lever-operated spray-gun with a stainless steel adjustable nozzle gives a quick and accurately targeted application and the system is suitable for all milking parlours other than robotic ones. An Ambic Jetstream system has been incorporated to compensate for the viscosity of the liquid.

Once the system has been installed, applying the Intra Hoof-fit Spray liquid costs as little as 20p/month for each cow, says the company. It is designed to replace current foot-bathing or hoofcare products and is said to reduce costs and reduce lameness.

Running costs are minimal, says the company, and replacement parts shouldn’t be needed. The Quill Hoof-Spray System is run using the in-parlour vacuum system and requires a minimum of 43kPa.

AG Marsh Hoofcount foot-bath

British manufacturer AG Marsh designed this automatic foot-bath to benefit cows, beef cattle and sheep by reducing lameness and to help the operator by automating an unpleasant task. 

The Hoofcount system counts the number of cows passing through the foot-bath and replenishes the liquid after a pre-set number have passed through. That number can be altered by the operator.

The stainless steel foot-bath can be built to a specified length and width to provide a bath that is as effective as possible. A rubber floor to the bath gives cows grip and stability. Two chemical pumps are fitted so that a second chemical can be used as part of routine foot-bathing.

The Hoofcount system has been on the market for two years and is available on farm for less than £5,000.

AB Vista NIR4 Farm feed analysis system

AB Vista, part of Associated British Foods, has come up with a high-tech, handheld unit that allows the farmer to analyse his forage so that he knows exactly how much to feed.

First launched in April 2014, it’s a small, handheld spectrometer and is aimed at big dairy producers and nutritionists. Calibrations are updated automatically on to the device when it is in range of wi-fi. The company says that 50 sample scans are included in the purchase price, with each scan after that costing 80p.

At the moment, it is designed to test grass and maize silage, but the company plans to extend that to fresh grass samples in the near future. Each analysis takes less than two minutes, says the company, and it shows dry matter percentage, pH, D-value, metabolisable energy (ME) and protein.

The cost of the unit is about £5,000, with a £1,000 licence fee and a charge of 80p/sample. It runs on the power from the device it is connected to.