A new source of bedding material for dairy cow cubicles that promises cost savings over alternatives such as sand and sawdust will be launched at LAMMA 2013 by slurry handling specialist Bauer.
At the core of the ‘Green Bedding’ system is a new high performance separator designed to achieve significantly higher dry matter levels in fibrous material separated from slurry. The material is dry enough to be used daily for bedding cubicles and on farms in the USA and other European countries is proven to provide a comfortable bed.
“On-farm experience shows that cows like this bedding; they lie down for longer periods, have reduced leg damage and we’ve seen reductions in mastitis and cell count where farms have switched from other types of bedding,” says Adrian Tindall, UK and Ireland sales manager. “The Green Bedding system saves the cost of buying in and storing traditional materials and it reduces the volume of slurry to be stored and spread on the land.”
At the heart of the system is a new de-watering machine developed by the Bauer Group company FAN Separator that can achieve significantly higher dry matter than the screw separators commonly used to improve slurry management and utilisation.
“The working principle is the same but thanks to its new screw design, pressure control and extra-strong build, the Green Bedding separator can consistently extract more moisture,” explains Adrian Tindall.
The new system is complementary to the Bedding Recovery Unit devised by FAN Separator that Bauer also supplies: “Both have a place on dairy farms looking to reduce the cost of buying-in bedding material,” says Tindall.
The Bedding Recovery Unit (BRU) with its integral drying system produces a soft and easy to handle fibrous material of at least 40%DM that stores well before use. Material from the Green Bedding separator is typically up to 36%DM and needs to be used daily.
“While the £200,000 cost of a BRU system is economically viable for very large herds and has the advantage that the material it produces can be stored, the Green Bedding system at around £40,000 makes this a viable approach on smaller units,” says Mr Tindall. “Either way, with traditional materials costing typically £50 per cow per year, there are savings to be made in addition to the superior comfort and convenience of this material.”
The new Green Bedding separator will be shown at LAMMA 2013 alongside Bauer’s complete range of screw separation machines, pumps, couplings and other slurry system components.
