A survey of Italian compost dairy barns

Abstract

Compost-bedded pack barns (CBPB), generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deepbedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with CBPB for dairy cows are reported in literature from the US, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. Potential advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been widely applied in Italy. However, there is still little scientific knowledge available about Italian CBPB. This study aims to describe the housing system, assess producers' satisfaction and measure performance of dairy cows housed in CBPB. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy were involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the total available surface area, bedded area and pack depth. A questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager in order to investigate management practices, labour requirement, amount of bedding materials used and producers' satisfaction. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in summer and in winter. Data from the Italian Dairy Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). In the barns involved in the study, the average total available area was 10.9 m 2 /cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m 2 /cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day.The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m 3 /cow per year. A tendency towards inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R 2 =0.395; P=0.051). Operations related to pack management required 4.1 hours of labour per cow per year. A direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labour required for pack management (R 2 =0.505; P=0.048). Although some concerns were raised about the cost of bedding and ease of management, producers were satisfied with this housing system.

Compost Barns: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…In Brazil, the compost barn system only began to be used in 2012 [ 51 ]. Today, there is widespread acceptance of this model in Brazil and worldwide due to the high degree of satisfaction of producers with its operation, as reported in several studies [ 4 , 5 , 44 ], which explains the growing number of publications from various countries.…”

Confinamento para bovinos leiteiros: histórico e características

“…De acordo com Leso et al (2013), o material de cama deve se manejado adequadamente para proporcionar uma superfície seca, confortável e saudável em que as vacas possam levantar e andar em uma superfície macia, os materiais de cama mais comumente usados são serragem, aparas de madeira e cavacos de madeira. Materiais de partículas pequenas, como a palha finamente processada, palha de milho e subproduto de palha de trigo também podem ser utilizados.…”

“…Esse processo é geralmente realizado quando as vacas vão para a sala de ordenha. Esse material chamado de compostagem da cama refere-se a uma mistura de fezes e urina produzida pelas vacas e pelo material de cama orgânica (Leso et al, 2013). A atividade biológica gera calor e ajuda a secar a cama e quando a cama começa a aderir às vacas, um material limpo deve ser adicionado à cama.…”

3D CFD Analysis of Natural Ventilation in Reduced Scale Model of Compost Bedded Pack Barn for Dairy Cows

“…Compost bedded pack (CBP) barns represent a relatively new loose housing system for dairy cows able to improve cow comfort [1,2]. These facilities are similar in many aspects to typical free-stall dairy barns.…”