The dairy industry has widely accepted sand as a leading bedding material. Nearly two-thirds of dairies utilize sand bedding in some format according to Nigel Cook, director of The Dairyland Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sand bedding is an intensive bedding format requiring time and money investment. On a recent episode of “The Dairyland Initiative” podcast, Cook detailed some important reminders for sand selection and stall filling and tending for success and comfort.
First, Cook recommended selecting a sand that has uniform particle size, avoiding jagged pebbles and fine particles.
“Most of the time, we're trying to be in the middle somewhere. We don't want sand to be so coarse that it is traumatizing the cow's foot or where it’s causing more hair loss and hoof wear,” Cook explained.
Additionally, fine particles should be avoided as they are often washed away in sand reclamation systems and can cause compaction in the stalls.
“There are two main types of manufactured sand that are popular. One is a mason or concrete sand, and the other is a number eight sand, which will be very commonly used in manufacturing,” Cook said.
The number eight sand tends to have more variation in sand particle size, and Cook recommended taking care if a farm chooses to use it.
Beyond the sand is management
Like all things on the dairy, management of the resources is just as critical to success as the sand itself.
“On average, we would see somewhere between 20 and 80 pounds of sand used per stall per day with an average of around 50 pounds,” Cook shared regarding the amount of sand to anticipate utilizing. If the sand bedding sits on top of a mat or concrete base, farms can expect to use half that amount.
Cook recommends filling sand into stalls once or twice a week. This keeps the sand fresh and organic matter lower.
“If you don't level and tend the beds on a daily basis, holes created by the cows laying get deeper, and actually you'll lose lying time,” Cook shared. “You lose about one hour of rest for every 3 inches of sand that's dug out. That means we need to level these beds on a on a pretty regular basis.
“You can do it manually,” he continued. “In smaller herds, we'll do this with a garden rake. What you want to do is grab the sand from underneath the loop where there's a big pile that hasn't had a warm cow incubating on top of it, and you want to drag that back diagonally flush with the rear curb.”
Cook said you can evaluate the sand quality by checking the stalls occasionally for organic matter level. Do this by forming a ball in your hands with bedding material. If you juggle the ball and it stays together, organic matter levels are too high.
