Hi, I’m Andrew a kiwi Dairy Farmer but only milk my cows Once A Day, follow me as I post videos of our daily farm life milking 320 jersey cows in beautiful sunny New Zealand.
The cows are on a all grass system with a bit of supplement to allow for our hot dry summers. They also stay outside on grass for 365 days of the year!
I farm with my father on our family dairy farm making me the 4th Generation to farm here.
seems to me that the dairy breeds bulls are well known to snap without warning. All breeds surely can but the dairy herds seem to have it happen more. Ive had a limousine go bananas and nearly kill my dad. But if you are going to hear a story of a pen worker killed in an auction yard by a bull. its going to be a dairy breed Last two Ive heard in my area have been Holsteins. Dad raised registered brown Swiss when he started and hated brown Swiss bulls.
Hey Andrew, if you're going to rubber mat I'd highly reccomend doing the bale area also. We had two identical 44ashb on the farm we managed last, owner bought the neighbors place which didnt have it but our original shed did. Our original shed was rubber mat the entire yard and bale area and the shed was so much nicer to milk in, quieter, cows flowed way faster in and out, heifers were way easier to train in the rubber mat shed and cows were generally more content, if we had a down cow they always got up good as gold with no sliding round and risking damage like on concrete. The only issue we had with it was during spring with large herds the cows would lay down on it during milking, keeping herd sizes to under 1hr each on the yard it was good as gold though.
$36,000 will buy alot of supplementary feed, grass seed, batt latches and labor plus putting the manure where it's needed! Some management tips: setup a paddock with supplementary feed then let the cows walk to the back of the paddock to the last break. Set up the next breaks so you are ready to move them at any time depending on the weather. The grass has so much water in it so they don't need a water trough. Use batt latches if you feel they need a move during the night. The goal is to keep the stress level low on the cows! Graze on, Alan in Madison, Wisconsin. Years ago I sharemilked 3 yrs. at Te Poi in eastern Waikato.
Plantings are great…. But how do you clean the drains out. We are seeing a lot of issues because of it. With the water eventually rising because it gets full it will get above the level of your drain tiles and stop that water getting away. Not saying plantings are not good just a few things to think about.
We put rubber matting in our tie stall barn 25 years ago and it helped with foot problems BUT our cell counts increased a lot. When we quit milking we sold the mats and it was really nasty under them. I would look into some type of an epoxy coating and see what is available. It would not be as thick but it would be sealed.
West Aussie here, can’t say not do it at all. We’ve had ours going on nearly ten years and yes you get some build up underneath but the relief you see in your cows as the step on it. They will place sore feet to the matting and look relaxed
Will that rubber matting be easy to hose down without getting poop stuck between the knobbly bits? That trap is awesome. Does it reset itself or do you have the check them each morning and reset them if it has clocked a rat or something?
We have it at the front of the shed helps heaps with cows not getting pushed over. But we have it inside the pit for our feet and back. Not once since installed have I had sore feet during any milking.
Mate had matting on whole yard was not a fan the smell of trapped dung under mats in summer was pretty full on made for more flys. Also look into the rules around rain water discharge from yard not in use due to matting as in you have to collect all water regardless
Check how theyre gonna wrap the rubber round the steel posts. It holds the shit in at the base of the posts and rusts them off quick as. Don Chapman is used a heat shrink tube over the bottom of any posts that weren't in a nib.
Something else to think about is the weather on the day you lay it. If it's too hot or cold you get shrinking/expanding all the time which makes gaps in the rubber and pops them up in places too. Don't wanna scare you off from the rubber, it did help with lameness etc here but worth knowing the headaches before you jump in
So is there any grinding of the surface needed, floor levelling compound etc. watched 10Gen Dairyman putting matting down in their dairy shed, all tek screws through the mat and drilled into the concrete. Looks straightforward but I reckon the floor surface will be the key to DIY.
I definitely prefer the bale quality from the plastic wrap vs the netting. The netting is easer to pull off with less mess, so on that basis i think id rather the netting.
Another great video thanks for the honesty of your channel. On the bale wrap if you took off the outside wrap put it down on the feeder and cut the plastic on the side tie it to the side of the feeder so when it spins to unroll the bale it comes off first but is contained because it is tied. I have no experience of this but just a suggestion. Thanks Neville
