With straw prices hitting the £80/t mark, there’s renewed interest in using woodchip for cattle bedding, reports South Glamorgan chipper maker Biomass Equipment.

Its WoodPecker PTO disc chipper range was launched at the Welsh Show in July. There are models that can deal with logs of 100mm (4in), 150mm (6in) and 230mm (9in) diameters, with the 150mm version said to be attracting the most interest. The infeed control enables the user to produce a chip of a desired size, whether it’s for livestock bedding or fuel for biomass boilers.

A WoodPecker 150mm or 230mm is capable of satisfying all the bedding requirements for livestock producers, says the company. By using low grade woodland material or buying in low-grade timber at £20-25/t, woodchips become a viable economic alternative.

Costs start at £2600 for the 100mm, £5100 for the 150mm and £6500 for the 230mm.