Free-stall cow sheds: the other side of the story

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BY JEFF TOLLAN

Farmers and industry people say misinformation is rife about free-stall cow sheds – "wrongly" called cubical farms – and say the buildings actually benefit cows, profits and the environment.

During the week debate has raged about the benefits and drawbacks of the sheds, the Green Party, ministers and Prime Minister John Key have been caught in the "cubical farm" quagmire, in spite of the buildings operating around the country for some time.

But instead of condemning farmers using the design, they should be championed as heroes, one industry insider said.

Last month, The Herald reported three dairy companies – Five Rivers, Southdown Holdings and Williamson Holdings – lodged consent applications with Environment Canterbury.

Should the proposed consents go ahead, the companies would install more than a dozen free-standing dairy farms, capable of holding more than 17,000 cows over 8000 hectares in the upper Waitaki basin.

A designer of free-stall sheds, Chris Broadhead approached The Herald yesterday, worried people were getting the wrong impression.

"They need to know that cows are not living in cubicles, they are free to walk in and out of the shed as they please. There has been a huge amount of misinformation."

A number of farmers were now looking at free-stall farming as an option and Mr Broadhead said he was dealing with inquiries on a weekly basis.

Mark Kingsbury has been using a free-stall cow shed since March and was expecting a 20 per cent hike in milk production next year, while using less feed.

He said when cows were indoors, they needed less energy to keep warm and could put that into producing milk.

There was always feed in front of them and he said when cows were inside, he could evenly spread the effluent from the shed across the farm and control the amount of effluent going on to the ground and where it was spread.

"That effluent's making up a high part of our fertiliser component," he said.

Mr Kingsbury also dismissed concerns about animal welfare.

"It's not an issue at all. Animal welfare was our top priority when we decided to build one of these sheds and the cows' conditions are 100 per cent better."

In the cows' stalls were vinyl mats, padded with foam, the feeding area was separate to where the animals walked and a squeegee was constantly and slowly moving up and down the walking area, clearing away the muck into holding ponds.

Harmen Heesen, of Cowhouse, said the sheds worked for both animals and farmers, who should be congratulated.

"The farmers who have taken the lead in being environmentally responsible, they should be championed; they should be the heroes of the dairy industry."

Cows had shelter from bad weather and were not trampling their feed, he said.

In a paddock, up to 40 per cent of feed could be trampled into the mud and effluent, Mr Heesen said.

- © Fairfax NZ News