Three top ten lists for managing freestall, tiestall, and compost bedded pack barn facilities for dairy cattle are presented.

1. Dr. Jeffrey Bewley
Three Top Tens for Facilities
Management: Freestall,
tiestall, and compost bedded
pack barns

2. First Things First
Not going to tell you which system is best
Our job is to help you manage the system you want
Asking which system is best is like asking:
Which truck is best?
Which tractor is best?
Which religion is best?
Strong opinions, but they can all work
It all comes down to management
Choice depends on geography, existing facilities, economics, and
personal preference

3. Pasture Based Dairy System
Advantages
• Lower capital investment
• Cows harvest their own feed
• More aesthetically pleasing to
neighbors and consumers
• Potentially lower cull rates, easier
to grow from within
• Less lameness
Disadvantages
• Pasture management-different
skill set
• Walking distance may limit
production
• Damage to land/SCC problems
during wet periods/winter
• Generally, lower milk production
• Energy problems can create BCS
problems
• Drought risks

4. Partial Confinement Dairy System
Advantages
• Nutrition from grass at optimal
times
• Less manure handling
• Natural “exercise lots”
• Easier heat detection
• Less lameness
• Appealing to neighbors and
consumers
• Often, based on existing
operations without new capital
outlays
Disadvantages
• Fixed costs of both
confinement and grazing
systems
• Need to buy land and
equipment with one idle at all
times
• Potentially lower productivity
• Environmental management of
two systems

5. Large Total Confinement
Dairy System
Family and Hired Labor
Advantages
• Similar to total confinement
with family labor
• Economies of scale
• Usually well-planned and
organized
• Potential to negotiate input
costs and milk prices
• Specialization of
labor/tasks
Disadvantages
• Move from cow
management to people
management
• Manure management
• Labor management
• Capital risks
• Feed demands
• Negative public perception

6. Confinement-Tie Stalls
Advantages
• Individual cow attention
• Individual cow feeding
• One building for milking
and housing
• Showcase individual
cows
Disadvantages
• Labor inefficient
• Physically
demanding
• Lack of cow exercise
• Consumer concerns
with cows social and
behavioral needs

7. Confinement- Compost Bedded
Pack
Advantages
• Excellent cow
comfort
• Low investment
• Good milk quality
• Manure handling
Disadvantages
• Sawdust availability
• Sawdust availability
• Higher variable costs
• Management ability
• Does not work well in
retrofits

8. Confinement- Freestall
Advantages
• Cow comfort can be excellent
• More environmental control
• More animals per square feet
of barn
• Automation/management
options
Disadvantages
• Poorly
designed/maintained
freestalls= poor cow
comfort
• Concrete, loops,
mattresses can be
expensive
• Manure management

9. Top Ten Tie-Stall Barn Keys

10. 1. Size for Modern Cows

11. 2. Get the Numbers Right

12. 3. Tie-Stall Bedding Should Look Like This

13. 4. Not like This

14. Tucker et al., 2009

15. 5. Invest in a Comfortable Bed

16. 1.Sand 2. Waterbed 3. Good Mattress
4. Composted Manure 5. Straw 6. Old Mattress
Bewley’s Base Bias

17. 6. Don’t buy Rubber Mats—
they are black concrete

18. 7. Fans (and maybe evaporative cooling)

19. 8. Consider Tunnel Ventilation

20. 9. Maintain Stall Cleanliness

21. 10. Build and Manage for Maximum Intake

22. Top Ten Freestall Barn Keys

23. 1. Comfortable
Lying and
Standing

24. 2. Design Stalls for Natural Lunging

25. 3. Balance Cow Comfort and Cow
Cleanliness But Lean Toward Comfort

26. No
Lunge
Space
Poor
Stall Use
InjuriesPerching

27. 4. Get the Dimensions Right
Animal
Weight
(lbs)
Total
Stall
Length
Closed
Front
(in)
Total
Stall
Length
Open
Front
(in)
Length
to
Brisket
Tube or
Board
(in)
Length
to Neck
Rail
(in)
Stall
Width
Center
to
Center
(in)
Height
to Top of
Partition
(in)
Height
to Neck
Rail
(in)
Brisket
Board or
Tube
Height
(in)
LSC LSO LB LN WS HP HN HB
900-1100 90-96 78-82 64-66 62-64 41-43 42-44 42-44 4-6
1100-1300 96-102 80-86 66-68 64-66 43-45 44-46 44-46 4-6
1300-1500 102-108 90-96 68-70 66-68 45-48 46-48 46-48 4-6
1500-1700 108-114 96-102 70-72 68-70 48-52 48-52 48-52 4-6
Dan McFarland, Design Considerations for Dairy Cattle Freestalls

28. 5. Maintain Stalls
Bed every 1 to 3 days
Groom stalls to ↑ cow cleanliness (2 to 3 times daily)
Clean alleys (less manure tracked in)
Minimize overcrowding
Maintain adequate bedding
2” with mattresses
4” without mattresses
Listen to the cows!

29. 6. Freestall Bedding Should Look Like This

30. Not Like This

31. Or This

32. Or This

33. Freestall Bedding and Lying Times
Tucker and Weary, Journal of Dairy Science, 2004 87:2889-2895

34. 7. Clean the Alleys 2X/day

35. 8. Use Fans and Soakers Correctly

36. 9. Flooring-Need to Provide Traction

37. 10. Don’t overcrowd

38. Top Ten Compost Bedded Pack Barn Keys

39. 1. CBP Requires More Management

40. 2. Stir Packs 2X/day 365 Days Per Year

41. • Providing less than 100
square feet of resting area
per cow is a recipe for
disappointment
• The amount of moisture
deposited through urine and
manure is too much to
overcome
3. Do Not Overcrowd

42. 4. Barns Should Have Open Ridge, High Sidewalls

43. 5.Properly positioned fans help cool cows
and dry bedding material

44. 6.No Access to Water from Pack

45. Restricted Water Access

46. 7. Wide Entrances and Entrances on
Short End of Barn are Too Wet

47. To minimize this effect, multiple, build narrow
entrances along the long side of the barn.
Entrances should be spaced every 50 feet.

48. 8.Eave overhangs can help minimize the amount of
wind, precipitation, and sunlight entering the barn.

49. 9. Curtains Can Help in Winter

50. 10.Steam is Good But Doesn’t
Mean Pack is Composting

51. Questions?
?????
Jeffrey Bewley, PhD, PAS
jbewley@bovisync.com
jbewley@cowfocused.com