Cleanliness and comfort are basic requirements of freestall design, construction and maintenance. Cleanliness—a clean and dry stall bed—results in cleaner cows and udders. Comfort—a comfortable bed, appropriate lunge space and roomy dimensions—helps to assure that the cow will choose a freestall when she lies down. In simplest terms, the purpose of a freestall is to reduce exposure of teat ends to mastitis causing organisms when a cow lies down. With effective freestalls, cows lie down 10-14 hours per day.

Swollen hocks and knees result from a bed lacking cushion (concrete, a rubber mat, compacted earth). Also, mounds, lump or holes in the bed reduce comfort, besides causing problems for the rising cow. Difficulty in rising and lack of comfort both discourage freestall use.

Two methods have emerged as candidates for a freestall base and bedding: i) mattresses with dry bedding on top and ii) a deep layer of sand. For cow comfort, a bed of loose sand can be considered the gold standard. The only logical reason for not using sand relates to the difficulty sand adds to the manure system or the availability of high quality sand. Detailed planning of the manure system—including selection of handling equipment, storage type and land application method—is essential.

Loose sand conforms to the shape of body components—knees, hocks, etc.—spreading the cow's weight over a larger area.A larger contact area reduces pressure on projecting bones and body parts when she is lying down.

Increased contact area protects the knees also. A cow lunges forward on her knees as she rises from a lying position, transferring her body weight forward so she can rise more easily on her hindquarters. During the lunge, the weight transfer process increases the downward force on each knee from 350 lb. (about 1/4 of the cow's weight) to 500 lb or more—on each knee! Sand conforms to the shape of the knee, increasing the area over
which this downward weight of the cow is distributed. This reduces the potential for injury to the knee.

Loose sand consistently distributes the downward weight better than any other material or combination currently in use. Thus, loose sand represents the standard of comparison when evaluating stall beds of various materials for their cushioning effect.

Good footing in a freestall helps a cow to lie down and rise easily. In this case, "footing" means not only reducing the tendency to slip, but allowing the cow to embed her foot in the surface to provide good leverage. When a cow can rise more confidently, the tendency to rock back-and-forth is lessened, rising time is reduced trauma to knees, ankles, etc. is kept to a minimum. Again, the shifting nature of the sand is a benefit, providing excellent "footing". Beds of other materials must be equivalent.

Michigan Department of Agriculture - Information about the laws and regulations that govern agricultural business; groundwater stewardship program; right to farm guidelines; consumer food safety http://www.mda.state.mi.us/

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality -Improving environmental quality for the protection of public health and natural resources to benefit current and future generations.  http://www.deq.state.mi.us/

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Programs - The Natural Resources Conservation Service is a Federal agency that works in partnership with the American people to conserve and sustain our natural resources.  http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/

National Soil Survey Center (NRCS) - Provide soils program technical leadership and coordination, state-of-the-art soil survey technology, standards, data, and expertise to NRCS and national and international partners.  http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/nssc/

Michigan Association of Conservation Districts - A non-profit organization that represents the interests of Michigan's Conservation Districts.  http://www.macd.org/macdset.html

Farm Youth Killed After Falling off a Horse-Drawn Hay Wagon

On June 28, 1999 a 3-year-old was accidentally run over by a steel-wheeled horse-drawn hay wagon, according to an MSUE-supplied news clip. The accident occurred around 9:45 p.m. The child was taken to a local hospital where he died of chest injuries.

SAFETY TIP: Young children need constant supervision when riding on farm wagons. Even under the best circumstances, a child may get beyond the control of an adult, which could result in injury or death. Riding on a farm wagon is not without risk. Consider alternative activities or supplying qualified child care away from farm equipment and work activities.

According to an MSUE report, on June 30, 1999, a 48-year-old farmer in Calhoun County was killed while using a large round baler The farmer ignored warnings from his son and apparently used his feet or tried to pull out wet hay from the front of the baler and was pulled into the machine. His body was found inside the large round baler along with almost a complete bale.

SAFETY TIP: In the United States, at least 87 farm deaths involving large round balers occurred between 1980 and 1995. Large round bale deaths or injuries occur when the operator kicks or pulls wet hay with the baler running. Avoid this unsafe work habit. Follow the procedures in the operator’s manual concerning adjustments and/or removing wet material or plugs.

Howard Doss

Fire Prevention Week is October 3-9, 1999. If you would like a Fire Prevention Week catalog contact the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) at http://catalog.nfpa.org

Howard Doss

The Midwest Plan Service has just published a resource that those of you who work with irrigators have been seeking for a long time. The new MWPS-30 "Sprinkler Irrigation Systems" handbook is probably the first irrigation handbook ever written specifically for the supplemental irrigation practices of the north-central region. The book deals solely with sprinkler irrigation and associated water supplies. It was written by a group of engineers in the Plan Service region who work almost totally with sprinkler irrigation. Sections of the book include:

• Planning Irrigation Systems

• System Design

• Water Sources

• Sprinkler Systems

• Sprinkler Characteristics

• Sprinkler Selection and Management

• Pumps, Piping and Power Units

• Chemigation

• Sprinkler Application of Effluent

• Design Examples.

The book was written to fill the irrigation information needs of producers, students, irrigation advisors, and equipment dealers. Those of you who work with irrigators will find it a very useful reference that you will want to recommend to your irrigators. The book sells for $20.00 and is available from Nancy Aitcheson, Plan Service Secretary, Agricultural Engineering Department, Farrall Hall, MSU, East Lansing, 48824, 517-353-3297. If your office works with irrigators or receives questions about field crop irrigation, request a no-cost office copy from Nancy.

Ted Loudon