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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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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…

DAIRY

Benefits of training heifers to use the parlour

A snap poll by Farmers Weekly revealed that 52% of dairy farmers who responded, train their heifers through the parlour and 26% run a separate heifer group. Both results are…

LIVESTOCK

How a Canadian dairy tackles heat and irrigation limits

Higher summer temperatures and limits on irrigation are prompting John Vanden Dungen and his family to find new ways of making their business more resilient. John farms with wife Tanya…

WHATS IN YOUR LIVESTOCK SHED

WIYLS? New calf-rearing unit eases pressure

Rearing calves has historically been one of the toughest jobs for the Williams family, but a new purpose-designed shed has made the whole process healthier for youngstock and more enjoyable…

DAIRY

Benefits of robotic milking in a pasture-based system

Combining grazing with robotic milking has lifted grass and milk yields at Overton Farm, Somerset, where David Paull and Rosie Sage have three robots to milk their 180-cow organic herd.…

Practical advice

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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…

LIVESTOCK

Ways to cut emissions in housed livestock systems

All livestock farms, regardless of system, must comply with UK environmental legislation, but as the sector comes under greater pressure to go further with greener farming methods, it is businesses…

DAIRY

6 common farmer milking myths put to the test

Having domesticated cows 9,000 years ago, it is tempting to think we know all we need about milking. The dairy industry has a wealth of experience, with generations of knowledge…

DAIRY

Dairy tips: Benefits of benchmarking your parlour

A new parlour may not be the only way to improve milking efficiency, reduce time in the parlour or get cows in more quickly. Benchmarking your parlour and milking routine…

DAIRY

Advice on milking machine maintenance for spring block-calvers

Spring-calving herds with a tight block and a full parlour shutdown can plan to do their milking machine maintenance, servicing and any upgrades during the dry period. But parlour servicing…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Advice on reducing pneumonia risk amid autumn weather swings

Pneumonia prevention should be top of the agenda this autumn as high humidity and swings in ambient temperatures are creating the perfect storm for the disease. Dr Gwen Davies of…

Insights

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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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