Slurry pooling - how does your dairy unit shape up?

The design and management of dairy cow housing can go a long way to help reduce slurry ponding and hence lameness issues according to a study published by the Milk Development Council (MDC).

Minimising Slurry Pooling in Dairy Housing has been researched and written by independent consultant Mike Kelly. He found that poor site levels, inadequate slopes and a lack of maintenance are the main causes of slurry pooling.

Charlotte Bullock, research and development manager at MDC says: "Dirty floors, pooled areas of urine, mounds of slurry and slurry tides are all detrimental to cow health. These factors all contribute to foot problems, especially digital dermatitis, which is now widespread and costing the UK dairy industry dearly.

"More than 30 farms co-operated in the project to ensure a range of different slurry systems were looked at. The aim of the report is to pinpoint potential solutions for individual farmers."

The report features recommendations for design and management initiatives for many different systems including tractor scraped passes, flush floor passes and automatically scraped passes. It also covers the overall layout of units including housing design and environmental considerations such as ventilation and light levels.

A section of assessment forms allows farmers to give honest appraisals of their units so they can see where there are areas for improvement.

Ms Bullock finishes: "There are many well-managed enterprises, but no matter how good the dairy unit, there is always some aspect which can be improved, sometimes at very little, or no extra cost. This report is wide ranging, and provides a useful checklist of those aspects of housing design which have a direct and indirect influence on cow health, including lameness."