Kentucky University professor Jeffrey Bewley serves as Dairy Housing and Analytics Specialist, where he handles a number of responsibilities. Jeffrey Bewley has been recognized for his work in the agricultural sector, including expertise regarding compost-bedded pack barns.
Compost dairy barns typically use sawdust or other wood shavings for bedding. The fine, coarse material gives an appropriate surface area-to-volume ratio, and it absorbs the liquids generated by cow waste elimination well. Reductions in the amount of available sawdust, however, have led farmers to look for alternatives.
Finely processed corn cobs, used horse bedding, and soy or flax straw, once ground, have been proven to work well. These materials must be processed to a comparable level of fineness and dryness, however, to perform in this role.
These materials can work by themselves but can also be used as part of a broader bedding solution that still contains sawdust. On the other hand, inorganic materials and other forms of straw often work poorly. Some common culprits for a potential bedding material's failure include bacterial growth, excessive water retention, and lack of meaningful structure.
