What if the productivity of dairy cows was also a question of flooring?
When we know that the primary reason for culling dairy cows in France is related to a leg problem, the farmer's gaze should immediately question the flooring of their barn. Indeed, the infectious risk is never far from the floor of the livestock building, which can be a real breeding ground for bacteria, conducive to the appearance of foot rot or other digital dermatitis. But it is especially the hardness of the floors of concrete corridors and stalls that are to blame. Unsuitable for the physiology of cows' feet, they weaken the legs of dairy cows, making them more susceptible to bacterial attacks and then impacting, by a domino effect, the productivity of the operation. What if contributing to the well-being of cows meant questioning the quality of the surfaces in the barn?
Flexible flooring for the foot health of cows
Cows spend 8 to 12 hours a day standing. Simply placing its foot on a hard cement or asphalt floor causes shocks to the joints and consequently abrasion of the hooves. The repeated effect can lead to abnormal horn growth and the appearance of bony growths responsible for chronic, often irreversible, lameness. These traumas are even accentuated in first-calf heifers who do not have the genetic capacity to develop plantar pads.
On hard floors, the slightest pebble can trigger a foot pathology in dairy cows. Indeed, a small wound on a surface with high infectious potential (numerous bacteria present in animal waste) can quickly generate lameness in the cow. Trimming is a one-off solution that unfortunately does not solve the problem at the origin of the lameness: the hardness of the floor which is not suitable for the physiology of cows' legs.
- The Bioret Agri solution : The Magellan draining mat is a flexible rubber covering, installed on the floor of traffic lanes. The pressure exerted by the cow's foot is thus better distributed and the shocks are absorbed. Small stones fall into the grooves, preventing injuries.
Cleanliness of the livestock building floor: what levers?
Even automated and regular, cleaning with a scraper is not always sufficient. The floor of the building often remains wet and therefore slippery. Risk of falling and, in general, a cause of discomfort for cows, the stress generated by their simple movements in the building impacts the quality of their feed intake, reducing the quantity absorbed and leading to a lower utilization of the ration. The restlessness of the cows also affects the farmer's daily monitoring, for the detection of heats for example, and makes it more difficult to identify other pathologies.
- The Bioret Agri solution : The grooves of the Magellan mat allow continuous drainage of liquids out of the building. The floor is dry and the cows benefit from more stable footing. Their feet are clean before arriving in the cubicle.
Barn: not all floor coverings are created equal
While slatted floors can provide a solution to certain problems related to the flooring of livestock buildings, they are a poor response to current ecological problems. Indeed, the stagnation of excrement under the slatted floor leads to an increase in ammonia emissions of +27%, with their induced effect on the odor in the barn. At a time when the European Commission is advocating a reduction in NH3 emissions of -13% by 2030, rethinking the surfaces in your livestock building can become a real lever for action.
- The Bioret Agri solution : The Magellan mat reduces ammonia emissions by 40%, i.e. up to 7.5kg/year and per cow. The impact is measurable immediately and sustainably.
Founded by a dairy farmer, now run by his son, Bioret Agri designs innovative solutions that respond to the problems encountered by farmers on a daily basis. All the innovations in the range take into account both animal welfare in livestock buildings and the economic challenges of the operation. Healthy cows mean fewer veterinary costs, to fully utilize the production potential of dairy cows.
