Put the priority on quality resting time for your livestock

• Milking herds can gain an additional 1 litre (2.2lb) of milk / day for every 1.5 hours of lying time. William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute

• Beef livestock can see a 30% improvement in liveweight gain in straw beds, compared to those with no bedding. Carrington Research Extension

The keys to successful bedding

• Bedding management before and during use is more important than bedding material.
• Bedding areas must be well maintained to optimise comfort - with the bedding material replenished 'little and often'.
• When using straw it must be chopped short in cubicles and spread long for loose housing. In both cases it must be prepared to optimise absorbency, livestock support and ground coverage to provide a bed that is ' as close to nature as possible'.