Innovations

Solving a matting problem

By Anne Boswell

When an innovative farming couple couldn’t find the matting they wanted for their stand-off pad, they designed one.

Otago dairy farmers Paul and Kyllee Henton are firm believers in the idea that New Zealand farmers are innovators.

If something isn’t available, hasn’t been invented or ‘can’t be done’, there is always a farmer somewhere sourcing it, making it or doing it, Kyllee Henton, a registered veterinarian, says

The couple, who run White River Holstein Friesians, did exactly that when they couldn’t find suitable flooring for their 600-cow wintering shed, so they went into research and development mode and decided to manufacture their own.

It has resulted in them launching a company, Agri-Tech Imports, which they now run alongside their 580-cow herd operation.

The couple have been on the farm for 15 years after entering an equity partnership with her parents to purchase the property.

The farm has flooded in previous seasons and she says they get snow most winters.

“During the harshest winter weather, we might keep the herd on the pad 24/7 in order to protect the pasture and the soil,” Kyllee says.

The tough climate was the reason behind the construction of a 600-cow wintering shed in 2015.

“We looked on the local market for barn flooring that was highly compressible, durable and easily cleaned, but there was nothing that really suited our requirements,” she says.

Realising they would have to make their own flooring, the couple contacted Paul’s brother David Henton, who has been based in China for the past 30 years.

“David works in the wider manufacturing industry and he knows how the system works,” she says.

“He and his 2IC researched Chinese manufacturers and Paul flew to China to visit several factories that had the potential to manufacture our matting.”

After finding a manufacturing outlet that understood what the couple was hoping to achieve, the design process was underway and shortly after, manufacturing began.

The matting is 100% rubber, made from 50% recycled rubber and 50% new rubber to balance sustainability and durability.

The moulds are the size of the mat, with rubber hot-poured into the mould to make one homogenous piece of rubber.

Each mat is 1.8m x 1.2m x 30mm, covering two square metres when laid and interlockable with other mats.

The specially-designed air-cushion base makes them soft and comfortable, and the top is textured for increased grip. The corners and sides are roll-proof to avoid tripping hazards.

The rubber matting was installed on their farm in 2017, and Henton says they knew it was a success when their cows started lying down and standing up, exhibiting natural behaviour just as they would in the paddock.

“It gives the cows confidence to walk around the pad and they don’t slip or fall,” she says.

The lameness in the herd also dropped completely due to the soft surface and increased grip.

While the mats were designed for their own use, Henton says other farmers became interested and they are now manufacturing the mats to order; they

Kyllee and Paul Henton milk 580 cows in Otago, where the weather can be harsh. When they couldn’t find suitable matting for their stand-off pad, they went into business to make it.

also keep stock on hand at their depots in Auckland and Otago.

Dairy farmers are finding the mats helpful on feedpads, dairy shed yards, entry and exit points of rotary milking sheds, underpasses, bridges and calf trailers.

And it’s not just dairy farmers that are benefiting from the matting, they are also being used by beef, equine, deer and pig farmers.

Customers can buy direct from their website, www.comfycow.co.nz, or from their local Farmlands store.

Henton says matting enquiries and quotes are managed via email and phone when required, with their dairy farming business remaining their focus.

The couple subscribes to the idea that a fully fed cow is a happy cow, and aim to fully feed their cows year-round to support body condition, production and reproductive functions.

The herd produces about 550kg MS per cow and they have access to the feedpad as they need. The Batt Latch gates are unlocked at 3am and the cows come in under their own steam ahead of morning milking.

After milking they go back onto the pasture until the gates are automatically unlocked again around lunchtime and the herd can head back onto the feedpad.

Cows are wintered at a 96ha runoff nearby and they use another 45ha support block for cut and carry feed, including silage and fodder beet, which they feed ahead of mating.

They also grow turnips on the milking platform that are strip grazed and feed imported soya bean meal, DDG and crushed barley on the feedpad, along with minerals.

Henton says the journey to manufacturing the mats has been remarkably smooth sailing, despite the minor challenge of building a relationship with the right manufacturer in the beginning.

“Even covid hasn’t interrupted our supply; the only issue has been the cost of freight increasing five-fold,” she says.

“Our long-term goal is to grow the business and increase awareness of what we have created.

“We have had fantastic feedback from farmers so far.” n The herd standing off on Comfy Cow rubber matting on the Henton’s Otago farm. The matting is made from 100% rubber and the specially-designed air-cushion base makes them soft and comfortable.

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Switched on cooling

By Samantha Tennent

Having a milk cooling system that turns itself on will eliminate the stress and worry if someone forgets to turn it on.

Turning up to morning milking to discover you had forgotten to turn on the refrigeration unit the night before is a frustrating mistake. And a costly one that happens very easily, especially if there has been a disruption to the normal routine, or different people have been milking.

The problem had been baffling Matt Parkinson for a number of years. He wanted to find a way to start the vat automatically and two years ago he had a lightbulb moment and jumped straight into developing what he dubbed E-Start.

“It just takes a level of risk out of a farmers business,” Parkinson says.

“Manually having to turn on refrigeration is where mistakes are made. A farmer forgets to turn it on, or they’ve got a relief milker, or staff being staff and forget, it happens regularly.

“And with the new vat monitoring systems monitoring milk temperature in real-time, there is no room for error.”

His prototype was a shoebox with a bird’s nest of wires and relays, but he talked to an electronic engineering company who were able to miniaturise it to the size of a cigarette packet. The units have been rigorously field-tested for the past two years without any issues.

Donald and Kathy McKinnon are milking 180 cows in Opiki, south of Palmerston North, and were one of the early farms to trial the E-Start.

“With our insurance policy we’ve only got one opportunity to claim on dumped milk per year,” McKinnon explains.

“And I’d much rather use it for something like a tanker getting contaminated with penicillin than forgetting to turn on the refrigeration.

“You’re a jack of all trades when you’re milking, you could be washing the vat, you’ve got your children there, you’re trying to get the cows in, you’re trying to remember if you shut the gate and set up the paddock. It’s very easy to drop one thing if something happens.

“There is plenty to worry about, but at least with E-Start you know in the back of your mind if you’ve got the milk going into the vat, you know the fridge is turned on.”

He values having the reassurance his milk is protected.

“By the time our milk monitoring system alerts a problem, it is usually too late to do anything about it,” he says.

The units are assembled in Auckland and sent to Parkinson in Manawatū to add the brackets and package them ready to be sent to farms. They are installed by an electrician to the vat controller, with a proximity sensor behind the vat.

“E-Start is designed to retrofit into your current control system,” Parkinson says

“There are only five wires to install and another that goes around behind the vat, it’s that simple and provides valuable economic insurance for the farm business.”

He is geared with an engineering background and has worked in dairy refrigeration for around 20 years. He helped develop a pre-cooling solution for milk, before having a break from the industry. But it was always his passion and he joined the industry again launching his own business, AgriChill.

The E-Start monitoring system is easy to retrofit into existing milk cooling control systems, simple to use and provides valuable economic insurance for the farm business.

“There is plenty to worry about, but at least with E-Start you know in the back of your mind if you’ve got the milk going into the vat, you know the fridge is turned on.”

Donald McKinnon

“Back before Fonterra was formed, Tui Dairy Company had an automatic refrigeration system. It was done by load cells, so when the milk came into the vat the weight would activate the refrigeration,” he says.

“But most of those systems have gone now and most farms have manual refrigeration units.”

He has seen plenty of mistakes and knew there was a need to find a way to automate the process. After a successful trial period, he entered E-Start in the Fieldays Innovations Awards and had a manic few days at Mystery Creek.

“I got great feedback from farmers at Fieldays but it has been slow to get the word around and selling units,” he says.

“But once the customer understands how it works and is using it, they are swearing by it.”

More than 50 have been installed around Manawatū and he is now receiving orders from around the country.

“The protection is economical; it only takes saving one vat load of milk from being dumped to pay for itself basically, not to mention the ecological hassle of trying to dispose of the milk,” he says.

“One of our early adopters told me within six months of installing the unit he had turned up to the cowshed three times after milking to find the refrigeration hadn’t been turned on and he was very thankful E-Start had saved the day each time.”

Not out to make a fortune from selling units, Parkinson is pleased to offer a solution for a frustrating problem and hopes more farms will install units and experience the relief of knowing they have their bases covered.

“Too much milk goes down the drain from basic mistakes that can now be mitigated with an easy solution,” he says.

Matt Parkinson created a milk cooling system that turns itself on automatically to help farmers eliminate costly mistakes.

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Do the locomotion

Locomotion scoring is a system of scoring cows from 0 through to 3, where 0 is normal with good mobility and 3 is severely lame. Once each cow has been scored, a plan of attack for treating lame cows can be implemented.

WelFarm general manager Samantha Tennent says the best time to perform a locomotion score is six to eight weeks after mating has started, as lameness has the biggest impact at that time of the season.

By Samantha Tennent

Have you ever had a locomotion score performed on your herd? Not sure what they are for or what to do with the information after you’ve received the results? This month we explore the value of locomotion scoring.

Lame cows cost a farm business from the reduced production, impaired reproductive performance and being susceptible to premature culling.

The rough figures estimate a case of lameness costs the business $250, which equates to almost $15,000 for the average 419-cow herd, with an average of 14% incidence.

From the 2020-21 season data within

WelFarm, it shows an average of 4% of cows were scored 2 or 3 at their locomotion scores performed in early lactation. These are cows that are in the main herd and not previously identified.

This means that 4% were picked up and treated sooner before the lameness escalated and they cost the business significant time and money.

Farmers find it frustrating and timeconsuming to manage lame cows and it poses significant public perception risks, as well as being considered a serious animal welfare problem. There are two elements to tackle when managing lameness in a herd: treating affected cows and reducing the incidence and risk.

When a locomotion score is performed it can be used to assess if there are lame cows that need treating. It also shows if there are cows developing lameness that need observing and may need their feet lifted to check. It also shows what the incidence of lameness is looking like and whether there is a need to review herd management.

Locomotion scoring

A simple system of scoring cows from 0 through to 3, where 0 is normal with good mobility and 3 is severely lame. Once each cow has been scored, a plan of attack for treating lame cows can be implemented. • Score 0 cows are not lame with a normal gait. • Score 1 cows are slightly lame. They

“We wanted to pick up the cows that were slightly lame and do something about it before they got too bad.”

Sam Spencer-Bower

walk unevenly but it can be hard to identify the lame leg. These cows need careful monitoring to ensure lameness does not develop further and may benefit from having the feet lifted and checked. • Score 2 cows are moderately lame. It is possible to identify the lame leg and they should be drafted, examined and treated as soon as practical. • Score 3 cows are severely lame and should be drafted, examined and treated within 24 hours. They may require a vet. Lame cows should not be made to walk far and should be kept on pasture.

Within the WelFarm programme we recommend performing a locomotion score six to eight weeks after mating has started as lameness has the biggest impact at that time of the season. Talk to your veterinarian about getting involved in WelFarm.

Case study

Sick of dealing with lame cows, North Canterbury farmer Sam Spencer-Bower decided to take a proactive approach with some preventative hoof trimming. But he was concerned they weren’t picking up enough cows and started working with his veterinarian to get some locomotion scoring performed on his farms.

“We wanted to pick up the cows that Lame cows can cost a farmer thousands of dollars in lost production and reduced reproductive performance.

were slightly lame and do something about it before they got too bad,” Spencer-Bower says.

“We didn’t have a significant lameness problem, but it was enough to be costly and the guys don’t like doing lame cows, so the less we had the better.”

He looks after nearly 3000 cows across three dairy farms as a general manager in Rangiora and with around 15 staff, he has found the locomotion score data a great tool to support the team.

“It gets everyone thinking about it and whether they’re doing anything that could be causing it,” he says.

He uses the information to determine what could be happening, whether there is an infrastructure problem or if the staff need some further training and support.

“You’ve got valid evidence to show staff things aren’t going as well as they might think and you can justify potential upgrades or adjusting things in the yard, like how the backing gate works for example,” he says.

“If you rely on records of how many cows you’ve treated, you don’t have the information around the severity and different people pull out different levels of lameness to treat, so it’s worthwhile for us having the independent scorer come out and score the farms.

“Once you’ve got some numbers you know percentages of what is happening and you can start calculating what that’s costing you, that’s the real benefit to me.”

There is no disruption when the locomotion score is happening. A vet tech from their local vet clinic comes onto the farms twice during the season and observes the cows as they walk back to their paddock after milking. All the cows are scored and Spencer-Bower gets a summary of the results.

“It’s money well spent, I know I get a good return from it,” he says. n

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Samantha Tennent is the general manager of WelFarm Ltd.

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