DairyNZ: Are your cows lying down enough?

Farmer Phillip Buckthought and his contract milker Bridget Dewar check the moisture content of a standoff pad. Photo / DairyNZ

We all know how important it is to get eight hours sleep, and while cows have different sleep patterns from us, they do need to spend a similar amount of time lying down.

But wet weather like we've been experiencing in some parts of the country can make lying down understandably less appealing.

For those of you using standoff pads to protect your pasture, DairyNZ and AgResearch developed a simple test you can do with your gumboots and an online calculator to identify when it's getting too damp and requires maintenance.

'The gumboot test gave us an earlier indication of whether we needed to give a standoff pad a rest for a couple of days or a few weeks.'

Research has found that when the moisture content of a standoff pad's surface reaches 75 per cent, cows will stop lying down.

The standoff pad gumboot test and tipping point calculator are both available on the DairyNZ website.

We tested the tools with farmers to ensure they made the grade. North Waikato farmer Phillip Buckthought and his contract milkers Brett and Bridget Dewar were among those to trial them.

Phillip, who has three stand-off pads on his Paeroa farm, tested the Tipping point calculator.

"It gives a really good idea of when you need to top your pad up with fresh woodchip," he says. "We have found post peel by far the best option, and it's very important to scratch up when spreading it. As the old saying goes, attention to detail is vital."

Brett, Bridget and their staff trialled the gumboot test. Bridget went on the pads every day, and staff members once a week, to check with their gumboots how slushy or dry the pads were.

"The gumboot test gave us an earlier indication of whether we needed to give a standoff pad a rest for a couple of days or a few weeks.

"With the new information we rested one pad for a couple of days whereas before we would have kept using it. Doing it this way is better for the cows because they lie down more on the standoff pad and less in the paddock — which is what you want," Bridget says.

As part of the trial, they monitored for a week how long the cows lay down on the standoff pads and in the field. The cows were on the pads from 3pm to 9am and on pasture for six hours.

"We learnt you have to watch the cows when they go out to the paddock. If they lie down it means they're not resting on the pad enough. They should be eating when they're in the paddock not lying down," Bridget says.

"The gumboot test should be standard practice. It's brilliant."

For more information on managing standoff pads, visit dairynz/stand-off-pads

Helen Thoday is animal care team manager for Dairy NZ