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HOUSING AND HEALTH
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
9
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Veterinary Surgeon
Adelle Isaacs
XLVets Practice
Larkmead Veterinary
Group
NEIL ROWE
, FARMERS WEEKLY AWARDS BEEF
FINALIST AND LARKMEAD VET
ADELLE ISAACS
Attention to
housing
and
health
ensures beef unit
efficiency on farm
One of the beef farmer finalists in the 2012
Farmers Weekly Awards was livestock
manager Neil Rowe of Manor Farm near
Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
Neil is responsible for two herds of Stabiliser
cattle, owned by Cumber and Son. He
manages the herd at Manor Farm himself,
and oversees an organic herd 20 miles away.
His vet, Adelle Isaacs of Larkmead Veterinary
Practice helps Neil plan and manage the
health and welfare of the two separate herds.
The beef unit based at Manor Farm was
established in 2008. Central to its success
have been the choice of the Stabiliser breed,
proactive health planning, and the design
of the cattle shed and handling facilities.
The system requires only two hours of Neil's
labour each day.
Building design benefits
When designing the shed, Neil knew what
he wanted to achieve: ‘The set-up needed to
have a low labour requirement, and provide
a high welfare system for the herd.
‘I wanted to keep it simple, but at the same
time be technically efficient - allowing cows to
perform physically, achieve a good financial
performance, and at the same time minimise
greenhouse gases.’
The design has been such a success that Neil
now offers building consultancy on the system.
The shed holds 350 cattle, and its ventilation
system allows both calves and cows to be
housed under the one roof. Low energy fans,
26ft in diameter are suspended below the
open roof ridge. They pull fresh air in from the
outside and force it down. It meets rising
warm air from the cattle, and the two
pressurised air fronts then disperse straight
out of the sides of the building. This enables
the volume of air in the shed to be changed
every five minutes. Fan speed is adjusted
daily, at 8am and 5pm, according to the
temperature forecast - this is important as they
are capable of creating a 20°C wind chill!
This system has proven effective in preventing
the spread of any respiratory diseases. Adelle
explains: ‘The cattle perform well and are
always in good condition. In fact, we rarely
sell any pneumonia drugs! And rarely get
called out for emergency work either!’
The building is laid out with the handling
passage on the inside, and cows in a series
of pens with feeders on the outside. Neil
explains: ‘Cattle like to look around and see
other cattle. It reduces stress and creates a
calm atmosphere.’
Neil Rowe and Adelle Isaacs
Ventilation from overhead fans allows cattle of
all ages to be housed under the one roof