The use of sand bedding in dairy farming has shown substantial benefits in cow health and milk production, as demonstrated by Apple Shamrock Dairy and Rosedale Farms. With effective management and sand removal strategies, these farms maximize the advantages while addressing challenges.
Often referred to as the “gold standard” for bedding, sand has proven itself to be an ideal and profitable option, particularly in the humid conditions of the Midwest and the eastern United States. The advantages—such as enhanced cow comfort, improved traction in barns, and better milk quality—significantly outweigh the disadvantages, including wear and tear on equipment and the challenges of separating sand from manure.
The Insights from Apple Shamrock Dairy
Josh Waddell of Apple Shamrock Dairy in Townville, Pennsylvania, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing cow health over equipment repairs. “I can weld machinery back together… But when I get a really sick cow, I can’t always fix her. So we’ve erred on the side of we can fix the mechanical things, but if we’re getting sick or down cows with the slippery floors, a lot of times we can’t fix her,” he explains.
Apple Shamrock Dairy milks a herd of 1,100 cows three times a day using a double 20 parallel parlor. All barns, from six-month heifers to milking cows, utilize deep bed reclaimed sand. Over the years, Waddell has experimented with various bedding materials and found that the investment in sand bedding is far more cost-effective than mattresses. “When we put the deep sand in, cow longevity just exploded—it was an exponential gain,” he says.
Waddell attributes an increase of eight pounds of milk per cow to the transition from mattresses topped with sand to deep sand bedding, which was confirmed during their pen-by-pen transition process. Each completed pen resulted in an increase of about eight pounds of milk.
Tackling the Challenges of Sand Bedding
Waddell acknowledges the challenges that come with sand bedding, particularly its integration into the manure stream. He emphasizes the necessity of removing sand effectively to prolong the life of equipment. With the introduction of a sand lane and dewaterer, he has managed to remove approximately 80 percent of the sand from the manure stream, resulting in significantly extended equipment lifespan. “We used to be able to pump a million gallons through a manure spreader pump, and now we’re getting six million,” he notes.
Waddell highlights three essential strategies for optimizing sand bedding: effectively removing it from the manure stream, pairing the sand lane with a dewatering screen, and implementing these changes simultaneously. “In hindsight, the cost of the dewatering screen and pulling the sand out was minimal, and the savings more than covered it,” he explains.
Rosedale Farms: A Dual Perspective
Rosedale Farms, located in north-central Ohio, encompasses two sites with approximately 1,500 milking cows. Paul Keener operates both locations, each employing deep sand flush barns and parallel parlors with slight variations. “The Ashland farm is a true closed-loop system with a slope screen separator, and Jeromesville is a hybrid system,” he describes.
Using coarse sand, Rosedale Farms achieves an impressive reclamation rate of about 95 percent across both sites. Keener notes that coarser sand drains better than finer sand, thus minimizing hoof problems. “I don’t see it causing hoof problems on our farm, either,” he says.
Despite the drawbacks related to equipment wear and tear, Keener firmly believes that the benefits for the cows far outweigh these issues. He recognizes the unique challenges that come with sand bedding, including maintaining sand quality and managing flush water quality, especially during winter when sand can freeze. Ultimately, his philosophy is clear: “Cows are what pay the bills, so you’ve got to take care of them.”
As both Apple Shamrock Dairy and Rosedale Farms illustrate, the implementation of sand bedding can lead to significant improvements in cow health, comfort, and milk production. With proper management and strategic removal of sand from the manure stream, dairies can maximize the benefits of this gold standard bedding option while minimizing associated challenges.
