Housing & Construction

Housing & Construction

Housing & Construction

Dairy Articles

Bedded-pack Dairy Barns

Bedded-pack barns are an alternative type of dairy housing for producers wanting to upgrade or modernize their milking herd facilities while minimizing capital costs. These barns provide cows with a large bedded pen for resting rather than individual stalls (Figure 1). Bedded pack refers to the mixture of bedding, usually wood shavings or kiln-dried sawdust, and manure on the pen floor. A properly managed bedded pack provides a healthy, comfortable surface on which cows may lie.

New Roundhouse Brings Economies of Scale

UK - Roundhouse Building Solutions Ltd (RBSL) – the designer and builder of the innovative Roundhouse livestock building - has launched the Roundhouse 45, which is twice as big as the original building and capable of holding double the number of animals.

Livestock Housing Ventilation: Natural Ventilation Design and Management for Dairy Housing

By Terry M. Mescher and Michael A. Veenhuizen, Ohio State University Extension

Low-Profile Cross-Ventilated Freestall Facilities

A two year study into low-profile cross-ventilated freestall facilities reinforced the belief that these facilities provide a lot of potential benefits to dairy producers, but many design challenges still remain. J. P. Harner, Ph.D. and J. F. Smith, Ph.D., Kansas State University, explain the conclusions of their study. This feature was taken from the proceedings of the High Plains Dairy Conference. A full link to the proceedings is provided below.

Compost Bedded Pack Barns for Dairy Cows

Dairy housing systems have a substantial impact on the overall health and longevity of dairy cattle. By Marcia I. Endres, Kevin A. Janni and published in Extension

Sand for Bedding and the Dangers of Mastitis

Sand has been used to bed cattle for many years and producers tend to give it little thought, yet sand can carry a lot of bacteria posing health concerns to animals. David R. Bray, writing in the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), Dairy Update Volume 8, explains how he came to find out more.

Characteristics and Fertilizer Value of Compost Dairy Barn Manure

By Michael Russelle, Kevin Blanchet, and Les Everett of USDA-ARS and University of Minnesota published in Compost Dairy Newsletter Volume 11.

The “Best” Dairy Calf Housing Design?

By Neil Broadwater, Regional Extension Educator-Dairy, University of Minnesota Extension. There are many different housing ideas, concepts, and designs being used to raise dairy calves. What is the best housing design for raising dairy calves?

Continuous Housing of Dairy Cows

The continuous housing of dairy cows is a controversial topic in the UK, here the British Society of Animal Science, looks at the benefits and problems posed by housing dairy cows throughout their lives.