chapter
Section 3
24
23
Winter
Facilities
by Pat Clarke
Introduction
Choice of winter facilities is key, particularly for expanders or
new entrants to dairying.
1 How much should winter accommodation cost?
2 What are the advantages/disadvantages of each system?
3 How can I ensure animals have adequate feed space?
4 What slurry facilities do I need?
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Winter
Facilities
24
1
How much should winter accommodation
cost?
There are many different combinations of winter
accommodation and slurry storage facilities that can be
used at farm level. Each has their own merits, but there are
some basic considerations before choosing a system.
Factors to consider include:
• initialcapitalcost
• availabilityandcostofcapital
• annual running costs
• annuallabourinput
Table 1: The effect of winter accommodation system on
constructioncosts,operating&annualisedhousingcostsfor
a 16-week winter.
Out-wintering
Conventional pad/Earth-
cubicle shed lined store
Slurry storage requirement (m3/cow/year)
5.3
7.8
Total housing/slurry storage cost (€/cow)
1,218
371
Depreciation&interest(€/cow/year)
125
38
Bedding&slurryspreading(€/cow/year)
17
75
142
113
Total annualized cost (€/cow/year)
• potentialtoincreasecapacity.
Winter facilities drawings: Contact your
local Teagasc office for a copy of the
different winter facility options (up to
30 different designs available).
144
chapter
24
2 What are the advantages/disadvantages of each system?
Table2.Advantagesanddisadvantagesofdifferenttypesofwinteraccommodation.
Cubicleshed
Straw-bedded shed
Advantages
Disadvantages
•Lowmaintenance
•Independentofweatherforcowsandfarmer
•Suitable for lactating cows, e.g. liquid herds,
autumn,latespring
•High initial cost
•Repaymentssubjecttointerestratechangeswhere
capitalisborrowed
•Inflexible, as size of cubicles determines animal use
•Designmaynotallowforexpansion
•Flexible shed for livestock
•Shedcanbeusedforotherpurposes
•Annual straw cost
•High labour requirement
•High machinery cost
•Dungstead required where sheds are cleaned out during
winterclosedperiod
•Lownumberofanimalsperm2 of shed
Out-winteringpad
•Lowinitialcapitalcost
•Flexible
•Animalsoutdoors–improvedanimal
performancewhenmanagedcorrectly
•Annualcostofwoodchips
•Costofspreadingwoodchips,pluseffluent
•Notsuitableforlactatingcowsoveralongperiod
•Lesssuitableonmarginalland
•Farmerexposedtoweatherformanagementactivities
•Nocapitalcost
•Animals outdoors
•No machinery running costs
•Slurry storage facility required (by law)
•Weatherdependent,e.g.heavyfrost
•High level of management required
•Goodyieldofcropsrequired
•Nocapitalcosts
•Lessmachineryrequired
•Slurry storage facility required (by law)
•Largelandarearequirede.g.0.5-1.0hapercow
Wintercrops,e.g.
kale/rape
Saved grass
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24
Winter
Facilities
Cubicle shed
Constructionofacubicleshedforcowsisamajorproject
requiringsignificantdesignandfinancialplanningbefore
constructionbegins.Cubicleshedplusslurrystoragecould
cost between d1,200andd1,500percowplace,which
isapproximatelyd200,000for150cowplaces.
Considerations when designing a cubicle house include:
• number of cubicles (i.e. cows to be housed)
• potentialtoexpandinfuture
• number of rows of cubicles
• locationoffeedingpassageandfeedspacepercow
• watersupplytoshed
• accessfromshedtopaddocksandmilkingparlour.
Table 3: Features and dimensions of cow cubicles
Cubicle width (centre to centre)
1.15m
+/-0.025
Total length (rows towards wall)
2.3 – 2.6m
Total length (rows head to head and
single rows with no front wall)
2.21 – 2.45m
Brisketboard/pillowfromrearkerb
(if fitted)
1.75m
+/-0.05m
Neckrailfromrearkerb,
(measured horizontally)
1.70m
+/-0.05m
Height of neck rail
1.15m
+/-0.05
Cubiclebedslope
5%
+/-1%
Beddingheightabovethepassagewayfloor 0.2–0.25m
146
RefertoDAFMspecificationsS101 for full details for
construction of a cubicle shed for cows.
Figures1and2showtheplanandcross-sectionofatypical
shedwith126cubicleplaces.
chapter
24
43500
33930
14215
9600
Scraper slats
Scraper slats
Scraper slats
Scraper slats
Feed passageway
29200
4800
Side Elevation
4800
5000
2600
2400
2400
2400
5500
4115
Sliding Door
Sliding Doors
Sliding Door
2400
2400
2400
2600
5000
4115
Sliding Door
Sliding Door
End View
Figure1:Planofcubiclehousewith126cowplaces.
9555
8667
4300
4660
3810
3810
Section A-A
3500
2400
Section B-B
Figure 2: Planofcubiclehousewith126cowplaces.
147
Alternatives
Cubicle kennels
Cubicle kennels are an alternative to a full cubicle shed.
Inthisdesign,onlythecubiclesareroofed,thepassages
and feed area are unroofed. This reduces the cost of
construction.Slurryisscrapedfromthepassagesand
feed area to an external slurry storage facility.
Out-wintering pads
Out-winteringpads(OWP)areanewdevelopmentinIreland.
Padsarebeddedwithwoodchipandthedrainagesystem
underneath removes urine and rainwater. The cow feed area
canbelocatedonthepadoroffthepad.Someslurryis
removedfromthefeedarea(byscraper),withtheremainder
incorporatedintothewoodchip.
148
Key facts
Out-wintering pad
“
chapter
24
Winter
Facilities
“
Spaceallowance 12m2 lying area/cow
Storagerequired AllslurryfromcowsplusrainwateronOWP
Rainfalllevel
Asspecifiedundernitratesrules
Drainage
Ridgesanddrainagepipesleadingtostorage facility
Ridges
3mapartand150mmhigh
Drainagestone
300mmabovedrainagepipe
Woodchipheight 200mmabovedrainagestone
chapter
24
Earth-lined or geo-membrane lined
How to
Calculate the area for an OWP
Padarearequired(150cowsx12m2percow)
=1,800m2
Feedarearequiredforsilageonly
(150cowsx300mm/cow)
=45m
Padarea(1,800dividedby45)
=45mx40m
Asiteassessor,approvedbythelocalauthority,
willinspectthesite,andcarryoutasiteanalysis
andcharacterisationpriortoconstruction.Followingsite
assessment, a decision can be made whether an earth-lined
or geo-membrane liner is required. There are minimum
acceptedcriteriathatdeterminewhetherthesite
is suitable to be earth-lined, e.g. clay content, sub-soil
thickness, sub-soil suitability, water-table height, etc.
Therearefourstepstositeassessment:
Feedstandingarea(concrete)
=3m
(A) collation of background information
= 45m x 43m
(B) visual assessment
E.g.Fora150cowherd
Overall pad area
(C) trial holes and site tests
Woodchips:Woodchipswillcompactbyabout30%when
spreadonapad.Thereforea1,800m2padwillrequire
360m3 ofcompactedwoodchip,whichisequivalentto514m3
freshwoodchip.Theapproximatebulkdensityforsawmillby
productis400kg/m3and250kg/m3 for recycled timber
(D) decision-processandpreparationofrecommendations.
CheckDAFMspecificationsfordetailsofon-siteassessment.
• S132MinimumSpecificationforOut-winteringPads-
Feb2007
• Guidance Document for Out-wintering Pads
45m
• S132AAcceptedContractorsforGeo-membraneLined
Out-wintering pad for 150 cows
40m
Effluent
and slurry
removed
Figure 4 (overleaf) shows the cross section area of an
out-winteringpadthatrequiresageomembraneliner.
Figure5showsanearthlinedpadwheretheclaycontentof
thesubsoilisatleast10%.Thedepthofcompactedsubsoil
layerwilldependontheclaycontentofthesoil.
Feed area
Figure3:Layoutofout-winteringpadfor150cowswithfeedspace
of300mmpercow
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chapter
24
Winter
Facilities
Woodchip
Drainage stone
Ridge spacing 3,000mm (3.0m)
Slotted drainage pipe
200mm
300mm
150mm
200mm
Low to moderate permeability sub-soil
Minimum thickness 200mm
150mm
Unsaturated sub-soil
Minimum thickness 150mm
Geomembrane
Minimum thickness 0.5mm
Figure4:Crosssectionofout-winteringpadshowinggeo-membraneliner(fromDAFMspecifications)
Woodchip
Drainage stone
Ridge spacing 3,000mm (3.0m)
Slotted drainage pipe
200mm
300mm
150mm
500mm
Compacted sub-soil liner
Minimum thickness 500mm
Low to moderate permeability
unsaturated sub-soil
At least 10% clay content
250mm
Unsaturated sub-soil
minimum thickness 250mm
Figure5:Crosssectionofout-winteringpadshowingcompactedearthliner(fromDAFMspecifications)
On-pad feeding/off-pad feeding
Thereisanoptiontoplacesilageontopofthepadandallow
thecowstoself-feed.Inthiscasethespaceallowanceis
20m2/cowonthepad.Thisincludesthesilagepit.Thesilage
pitshouldbefilledfromoutsidethepad,topreventdamage
to the drainage system by machinery.
150
Thepitshouldbeamaximumof1.8mhightoallowcows
tofullyeatthepitfacewithouthavingtofeedoutthesilage.
For150cowsthiswouldrequireapadsizeofapprox.
3,000m2,i.e.50mx60m.
chapter
24
Grazing crops over the winter
Straw-bedded shed (no dungstead)
Grazing feeds in situreducesthecostoffeedpercowover
the winter. Also, there is no requirement for wintering facilities
but full slurry storage is required (under legislation) for all
dairycowsonthefarm.Optionsincludeswede,kale,fodder
beet,rape,turnipsandwintergrazingofgrass.
Thecostofstrawmakesthissystemextremelyexpensive.
In addition, there is increased labour with bedding, mucking
outandspreadingofthefarmyardmanuregenerated.
Approximately55kgofstrawpercowisrequiredeachweek
to absorb all urine. This is equivalent to four small square
bales of straw.
Successfulover-winteringoncropsrequires:
Manure pit and dungstead
• highcropyields
Bedding material for calving and calf rearing cannot be stored
ongrasslandoverthewinterclosedperiod.Effluentmustbe
collected where this material is removed from sheds over
thewinter.RefertoDAFMspecificationformanurepitsand
dungsteads for construction details.
• suitablesoiltypeforgrowingcrops
• suitable soils for grazing
• grassland management that allows cows go to grass
full-time after calving
• alternativeforagesupplyduringdifficultweather,e.g.wet
conditions, frost
• back-upforageifcropsfail,e.g.duetoheavyfrost.
Thelandarearequiredwilldependontheyieldpotentialof
thecropandthesowingdate.SeeTable4forpotential
carryingcapacityofthedifferentcrops.
Table 4: Potential grazing capacity of crops during a 100-day
winter
Fodder Kale
Beet
Swede
Rape Deferred
grass
Yield(tDM/ha)
18
10
12
4.2
2.8
Utilisation(%)
70
70
70
70
60
Energy(NE/kgDM)
1.12
1.05
1.12
1.03
0.85
Supplement
required as baled
silage (kg DM/day)
3
3
3
3
0
No. of cows
winteredper
hectarefor100day winter
29
15
19
6
2
Hectaresrequired
for150cowherd
(100-daywinter)
5.2
10
8
25
75
• S108 Manure Pits and Dungsteads
3 How can I ensure animals have adequate
feed space?
Feed barriers
- There are two main methods, easy feed and self-feed.
Easy feed
Barrier design is crucial. Cows must have a good reach with
neck-rail,stubwallandfeedpassageheightgivingcows
maximumreachwithoutimpactingonanimalposture.
Similarly,spacepercowmustbesufficientforthefeeding
system so that no bullying, lameness or health issues are
causedbythefeedbarrier.Forheadspace,therearetwo
recommendations:
(a)Silagefedad-lib-300mm/cow
(b)Mealfeeding-600mm/cow
Anincreasingnumberoffarmsarefeedingsupplementsat
feedbarriers,e.g.nofeedersinparlour,feedinghighquality
baledsilageinspring/autumn.Inthesescenarios,itis
essentialthatadequatefeedspaceisavailablefortheherd.
151
“
Key facts
Feed barriers
Head-railheightfromcowstandingarea(adjustable): 1,175mm
Stubwallheightfromcowstandingarea:
550mm
Feedpassageheightabovecowstandingarea:
125mm
Concreteaprontoslatincowarea:
600mm
Head-rail location on stanchion:
on feed
passage
side
Silagefeedspaceperanimal:
300mm
Mealfeedspaceperanimal:
600mm
Stubwallthickness:
100mm
4 What slurry facilities do I need?
Slurry storage
Slurryproducedduringwinterisamajorresource.
Recycling this slurry to the grassland area is an essential
partofnutrientplanningondairyfarmsandreducesthe
amount of P and K fertilizer needed. Similarly, slurry can be
usedtoreplaceNfertilizer,especiallywhenappliedearlyin
the grazing season.
Legislationdefinesminimumslurrystoragecapacities
required on dairy farms. These range from 16 to 22 weeks,
dependingonthezoneafarmislocatedin.Similarlythere
areminimumclosedperiodswhenslurrycannotbespread.
These range from 12 to 16 weeks.
“
“
chapter
24
Winter
Facilities
“
Key facts
Slurry storage
Slurryproducedperweek:
Tank
225
Outer
tank wall
125
425
550
100
Central feed passage
ore
d-c
Har
150 125
Slat
600
600
Concrete standing
area
Stanchion
/stub wall detail
Concrete pier
to stanchion
Figure6:Typicalstubwallandfeedbarrier.
Self-feed
Self-feedsystemsareoperatedbyelectricalwirewherecows
can eat above and below the electrical wire. This wire must
be flexible. Pit height should be a maximum of 1.8m high.
152
Dairycow
0.33m3
0-1-year-oldcattle
0.08m3
1-2-year-oldcattle
0.15m3
Winterslurrystoragerequiredpercowbylaw
Stanchion
1175
Adjustable for cows and
store cattle
Various designs - should be
adjustable in 25mm (1”) steps
and easy to adjust
16-week zone:
5.28m3
18-week zone:
5.94m3
20-weekzone:
6.6m3
22-week zone:
7.26m3
chapter
24
Advantages
Disadvantages
Slattedtank •Lowlabourrequirement •Expensivetoconstruct
•Lowmaintenance
•Difficult to increase
•No running costs
capacity/expandtanks
•Whereallpassagesare
slatted – eliminates
requirementforscrapers
Steel tank
•Cheapertoconstruct
•Canincreasecapacity
by adding extra height
•Can locate outside
farmyard to allow for
extraexpansionwithin
farmyard
Figure7showsthetypicalslattedtankdesign.Internalwidth
is3.5mwitha3.81m(12’6’’)slatontop.Thespinewallis
300mmtosupportthetwoslatswithouterwall225mm.
Netcapacityofthetankistheinternallength(16.2m)bythe
internal width (3.5m) by the net height. A freeboard allowance
of200mmistakenfrominternaltankheighttogetthenet
height.Thereforetheslurrycapacityofeachtankis16.2mx
3.5m x 2.5m which is 141.75m3.
•Collects rainwater,
extra volume to be
spread
•Slurry collecting system
required i.e.scrapers/
slurry channel
•Somelocalauthorities
don’t allow earth lined
lagoons
3500
2700
Lagoon(earth•Cheaptoconstruct
lined or geo •Some sites suited
membrane
to earth-lined lagoon
lined)
•Slurry is dilute
– more efficient
use of N fraction
inspring
•Slurry must be
pumpedintotank
•Slurry collecting
system required,
i.e.scrapers/
slurry channel
•Rainwater is
collected
Slatted tanks
Section A/A
225
A
16450
Spine wall
3500
3810
Beam
16200
300
3500
3810
A
A
Plan view with slats, wall beams and agitation access point
A
Plan view without the slats
Figure 7: Cross-section of standard double slatted tank with 4.1 metre slat
153
chapter
24
Winter
Facilities
How to
Calculate slurry tank size
Slurryproduced–150cowsx0.33m3/weekx18weeks=891m3
Wheretherainfalllevelis32mmperweekandthewinter
periodis18weeksthenatotalof576mmofrainwaterwill
fallduringthisperiod.Outdoorstoragemustallowforthis
rainfall.Also300mmfreeboardmustbeincludedintank
capacity.
Slattedtank–2.7mdeep(netdepth2.5m),3.81m(12’6’’)slat(3.5m
internal width)
Capacitypermetreoftank=2.5mdeepx3.5minternal
=8.75m3 permetrelengthoftank
Requiredtanklength-891dividedby8.75=102m
580mm rainwater
This tank will usually be in sections e.g. four tanks each 25 metres long
oralternativelytanksizecouldbewideri.e.4.4m,5.0metc.increasing
thecapacityandthereforereducingthetotallengthoftankrequired.
2,120mm Slurry storage
RefertoDAFMspecificationsforconstructionofslattedtanks
• S123BovineLivestockUnitsandReinforcedTanks
-March2006.
Outdoor collection facilities e.g. overground steel tanks,
lagoons must also collect rainfall and therefore require
additionalcapacityforrainstorageoverthewinterperiod.
Thereisalsoafreeboardrequirementof300mmwith
outdoor storage facilities.
Table5:Averagenetrainfallduringthespecifiedstorageperiod.
County
Carlow
Cavan
Clare
Cork
Donegal
Dublin
Galway
Kerry
Kildare
Kilkenny
Laois
Leitrim
Limerick
Millimetres
per week
24
27
32
37
38
17
34
45
18
23
22
33
26
Figure8:Outdoortank3.0mhighshowingfreeboard,rainwaterand
slurrystoragefor18-weekzonewith32mmrainperweek(notto
scale)
Overground circular tank
Collecting rainwater
154
300mm freeboard
County
Longford
Louth
Mayo
Meath
Monaghan
Offaly
Roscommon
Sligo
Tipperary
Waterford
Westmeath
Wexford
Wicklow
Millimetres
per week
23
20
40
19
23
20
26
32
27
31
21
25
33
Overground tanks (steel and concrete) are available in a
range of sizes. Normally their height is two rings, but some
havetheoptiontoincreaseheightbyoneringandtherefore
increasethecapacity.
Thecapacityofacirculartankispi(3.14)multipliedbythe
radius squared by the height. But remember that freeboard
andrainfallmustalsobeallowedfor.Forexample,thenet
capacityforatankthatis3.0mhigh,radiusof10m,
rainfallof32mmperweekandstoragerequirementof
18weeksispi(3.14)xradiussquared(10x10)xnet
height(3-(0.3+0.58))=666m3.
RefertoDAFMspecificationsforfulldetailsofconstructionof
overground slurry stores.
• S122MinimumSpecificationforProprietaryOver-Ground
CircularSlurry/EffluentStores-Feb2006.
• S122AAcceptedContractorsforProprietaryOver-Ground
CircularSlurry/EffluentStores-March2009.
chapter
24
Lagoons
Lagoons and out-wintering pads (OWP)
Whereout-winteringpadsarelinkedtoalagoonthecapacity
of the lagoon must be sufficient to hold:
• effluentproducedfromthepad
– slurry from the cows
– proportionofrainfallonthepad
• Rainfall on the lagoon.
Lagoonsarecheaptoconstructandcanaccomodatelarge
volumesofeffluent.Asforout-winteringpads,theproposed
site must be assessed to determine whether an earth or
geo-membrane liner is suitable. In calculating the slurry
capacityofalagoon,multiplytheaverageheight(excluding
freeboard and rainwater) by the average width by the average
depth.Forexample,inFigure9thecapacityis2.4mx15mx
15mwhichis540m3(120,000gallons)(1m3=220gallons)
“
“
Key facts
Earth-lined lagoon (ELL)
3.0m
Minimumfreeboarddepth
0.75m
Minimumgroundleveltotopofbanks
0.6m
Maximuminnerbankslope
33o
Maximumouterbankslope
33o
Minimumwidthoftopofbank
3.0m
°
max. 3.75m 33
E=(P×R)+(N×V)-(P×0.013)
where:
E=effluentproduced,(m3perwk)
P=padarea,(m2)
R=netrainfallonthepad,(mperwk)
N=no.ofanimalsonthepad,
V=excretaproducedperanimalperweek(m3perwk).
=(1,800x0.032)+(150x0.33)–(1,800x0.013)
=83.7m3perweek
=1,507m3 for 18-week winter
min. 3.0m
min. 0.6m
The formula is:
e.g.150cowsfor18weekswith32mmrainfallperweek
Maximumliquiddepth
max.
How to
Calculate effluent produced from an
out-wintering pad
Net rainfall
Slurry
1.5m min. Suitable Sub-soil
Theoretical section through an ELL
Min. freeboard 0.75m
OGL
Max. liquid depth 3.0m
Figure 9: Cross section of earth lined lagoon
155
chapter
24
Winter
Facilities
min. 600m
3 to 4m
Freeboard of 750mm
Liquid Level
max. 3m including rainwater
max. 1m
max. 1m
OGL
Top-soil removed
Layers of 150mm compacted to 100mm
Liner, min. 500mm thick
Legend
Notes:
surplus coarse material
reworked sub-soil
grassed top-soil
undisturbed sub-soil
OGL original ground level
Top-soil removed
NTS not to scale
1. Top bank width >3m
2. Inner tank slope shallower than 1 in 1.5
3. Freeboard >750mm
Figure10:Cross-sectionofearth-linedlagoon
RefertoDAFMspecificationsforconstructionoflagoons
S126MinimumSpecificationforGeomembrane-linedSlurry/
EffluentStores,andAncillaryWorks-Nov2002
4. Sub-soil liner
>500mm in all cases
>1000mm over regionally important aquifers.
S126AAcceptedContractorsforGeomembraneLinedSlurry/
EffluentStores-June2010
S131MinimumSpecificationforEarth-LinedSlurry/Effluent
Stores-Oct2005
Earth lined lagoons and out-wintering pads are not permitted in some local authority areas due to the nature
of the sub-soil. Check before proceeding.
156