A new on-farm source of bedding material for dairy cow cubicles that promises cost savings over alternatives such as sand and sawdust was 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 it has 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,” Bauer’s UK and Ireland sales manager, Adrian Tindall, said. “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 dewatering 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,” Mr Tindall added. “The new system is complementary to the Bedding Recovery Unit (BRU) devised by FAN Separator we also suppy, and both have a place on dairy farms looking to reduce the cost of buying-in bedding material.”
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| The Green Bedding system saves the cost of buying–in and storing traditional materials; it also reduces the volume of slurry to be stored and spread on the land. |
The BRU, with its integral drying system, produces a soft and easy to handle fibrous material of at least 40 per cent drymatter that stores well before use. Material from the Green Bedding separator is typically up to 36 per cent dry matter 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,” Mr Tindall said. “Either way, with traditional materials costing typically £50/cow/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.
For more information visit: www.bauer-at.com.
