Compost-bedded pack barns, generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deep-bedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with compost bedded pack barns for dairy cows are reported in literature from the USA, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. The main advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been applied consistently in Italy. However, scientific knowledge about Italian compost barns is still lacking. This study aims at describing housing system, assessing producers’ satisfaction and measuring performance of dairy cows housed in compost bedded pack barns. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy was involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the surface of total available area, bedded area and pack depth. In order to investigate management practices, labor requirement, consumption of bedding materials and producers satisfaction, a questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in each farm during summer and winter. Moreover, data from Italian Breeder Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). For the ten compost barns involved in the study the average total available area was 10.9 m2 per cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m2 per cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day. The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m3 per cow per year. A clear tendency to inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R2= 0.395; p-value=0.051). Operations related to pack management require 4.1 hours of labor per cow per year. Direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labor required for pack management per cow (R2=0.505; p-value=0.048). Performance of cows housed in compost barns included in this study was encouraging and although some concerns about the cost of bedding, overall producers were satisfied with this housing system.

Compost-bedded pack barns (CBPB), generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deepbedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with CBPB for dairy cows are reported in literature from the US, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. Potential advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been widely applied in Italy. However, there is still little scientific knowledge available about Italian CBPB. This study aims to describe the housing system, assess producers' satisfaction and measure performance of dairy cows housed in CBPB. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy were involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the total available surface area, bedded area and pack depth. A questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager in order to investigate management practices, labour requirement, amount of bedding materials used and producers' satisfaction. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in summer and in winter. Data from the Italian Dairy Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). In the barns involved in the study, the average total available area was 10.9 m 2 /cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m 2 /cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day.The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m 3 /cow per year. A tendency towards inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R 2 =0.395; P=0.051). Operations related to pack management required 4.1 hours of labour per cow per year. A direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labour required for pack management (R 2 =0.505; P=0.048). Although some concerns were raised about the cost of bedding and ease of management, producers were satisfied with this housing system.

Earth-to-air heat exchangers (EAHE) can reduce the energy consumption required for heating and cooling of buildings. The composition and the thermal characteristics of the soil influence the heat exchange capacity, and the soil moisture can furthermore affect thermal performance of EAHE. The aim of this study was to compare the thermal performance of EAHE in dry and artificially wetted soil. Tests were carried out in the Basra Province (Iraq), in a semi-desert area. Two experimental EAHE were built in a poultry barn and tested from June 2013 to September 2013. The pipe exchangers were buried at 2 m deep. One heat exchanger operated in dry soil (DE), while the other one operated in artificially wetted soil (WE). In the WE system, a drip tubing placed 10 cm above the air pipe wetted the soil around the exchanger. Air temperatures at the inlet and at the outlet of both the exchangers as well as soil temperature at 2 m deep were continuously monitored. The experimental results confirmed that wetting the soil around EAHE improves the general heat exchange efficiency. The coefficient of cooling performance (COP) of the earth-to-air heat exchangers system was evaluated on the basis of the ratio between the heat removed from the air or added to the air and the energy input. During the day, with an average COP of 6.41, the WE system cooled the air more than the DE system, which reported a value of 5.07. On average, in the hottest hours of the day, the outlet temperature of the WE was 37.35°C while in the DE it was 38.91°C. Moreover, during the nighttime, the WE system warmed the air more than the DE system.

Compost-bedded pack barns (CBPB), generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deepbedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with CBPB for dairy cows are reported in literature from the US, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. Potential advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been widely applied in Italy. However, there is still little scientific knowledge available about Italian CBPB. This study aims to describe the housing system, assess producers' satisfaction and measure performance of dairy cows housed in CBPB. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy were involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the total available surface area, bedded area and pack depth. A questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager in order to investigate management practices, labour requirement, amount of bedding materials used and producers' satisfaction. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in summer and in winter. Data from the Italian Dairy Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). In the barns involved in the study, the average total available area was 10.9 m 2 /cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m 2 /cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day.The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m 3 /cow per year. A tendency towards inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R 2 =0.395; P=0.051). Operations related to pack management required 4.1 hours of labour per cow per year. A direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labour required for pack management (R 2 =0.505; P=0.048). Although some concerns were raised about the cost of bedding and ease of management, producers were satisfied with this housing system.

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