Evaluating sustainable bedding materials to enhance dairy cow health and welfare in Ontario compost-bedded pack housing systems

Lead Applicant: Renee Bergeron

Research Priority: Animal Health & Welfare

Program Type: Tier 1

Funding Cycle: 2024/2025

Research Centre: NA

Research Summary: Compost-bedded packs (CBP) are alternative housing systems for dairy cows with the potential to improve cow welfare and milk quality. Our recent collaboration with CBP producers in Ontario revealed that sawdust cost is a major expense and, along with concerns regarding availability, may deter producers from adopting this system. The proposed project aims to explore the feasibility of using alternative bedding sources, such as Switchgrass and Miscanthus, on CBP dairy farms. Bedding sources will be assessed as raw feedstocks in laboratory- and barn-simulated CBP environments to determine how their physical and chemical properties (e.g. compressibility, absorbency, C:N ratio, etc.), impact the composting process (e.g. temperature, moisture, pH, environmental bacteria counts, etc.) under optimized management conditions. Data collected on commercial farms throughout all seasons will be used to confirm our laboratory findings and inform an economic analysis of the opportunity cost of growing alternative bedding sources on CBP farms.