We got lots of questions at the Ploughing Championships this week around the livestock demo area but the most popular questions were centred around bedding and the options on farms over the coming winter months.
With straw in short supply across the country, this has put up prices, especially the further away you go from tillage areas where haulage costs add a lot to the price.
On many farms where silage is scarce, straw will be used as a feed rather than bedding. Below, we take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of some bedding materials.
Straw advantages
Usually freely available.Easy to handle, dispose off and a good source of nutrients when land-spread.Straw disadvantages
Regular top-up required.Quality varies.Cost prohibitive this year.With bales making €25-€30 for a 4x4 round bale, livestock specialists with the Irish Farmers Journal estimate that it would cost €112 to bed a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks.
With straw costing €30 per 4x4 round bale, peat is a good alternative that represents good value for money.
Peat advantages
Absorbent.Easy to handle and dispose of.Peat Disadvantages
Haulage costs high outside of peat areas.With peat costing €13-€20/m3 depending on delivery charges, the cost of bedding a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks would be €60 including delivery charges.
Ewes penned on woodchip.
Woodchip advantages
Readily available.Cheaper alternative to straw in many cases.Woodchip disadvantages
Takes time to rot, disposal issues.Not very absorbent.With woodchip costing €20-€25/m3, it would cost €87 to bed a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks.
While peat comes out as the cheapest option this winter, some straw will still be needed on farms where cows are calving and ewes are lambing.
Peat could be used on these farms up to the point of calving or lambing and then switch to straw.
Another point for consideration is clostridial vaccine when bedding with peat. Clostridial diseases tend to be soil borne so risk of clostridial disease could be higher when bedding with peat.
We got lots of questions at the Ploughing Championships this week around the livestock demo area but the most popular questions were centred around bedding and the options on farms over the coming winter months.
With straw in short supply across the country, this has put up prices, especially the further away you go from tillage areas where haulage costs add a lot to the price.
On many farms where silage is scarce, straw will be used as a feed rather than bedding. Below, we take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of some bedding materials.
Straw advantages
Usually freely available.Easy to handle, dispose off and a good source of nutrients when land-spread.Straw disadvantages
Regular top-up required.Quality varies.Cost prohibitive this year.With bales making €25-€30 for a 4x4 round bale, livestock specialists with the Irish Farmers Journal estimate that it would cost €112 to bed a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks.
With straw costing €30 per 4x4 round bale, peat is a good alternative that represents good value for money.
Peat advantages
Absorbent.Easy to handle and dispose of.Peat Disadvantages
Haulage costs high outside of peat areas.With peat costing €13-€20/m3 depending on delivery charges, the cost of bedding a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks would be €60 including delivery charges.
Ewes penned on woodchip.
Woodchip advantages
Readily available.Cheaper alternative to straw in many cases.Woodchip disadvantages
Takes time to rot, disposal issues.Not very absorbent.With woodchip costing €20-€25/m3, it would cost €87 to bed a 4.7m by 4.7m pen with weanlings for six weeks.
While peat comes out as the cheapest option this winter, some straw will still be needed on farms where cows are calving and ewes are lambing.
Peat could be used on these farms up to the point of calving or lambing and then switch to straw.
Another point for consideration is clostridial vaccine when bedding with peat. Clostridial diseases tend to be soil borne so risk of clostridial disease could be higher when bedding with peat.
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