Physical and environmental characteristics of the compost barn system and its effects on the physical integrity, reproduction and milk production of dairy cattle: a scoping review

Abstract

Compost barn (CB), although recent in Brazil, is increasingly gaining popularity among the intensive breeding systems in the dairy sector. This system promises to offer several advantages to producers and animals: such as providing an environment in which milk production is increased and the physical integrity of cattle is improved, reducing mastitis episodes, and promoting thermal comfort for animals. Another factor that highlights CB concerning other intensive systems is the composting process, generated by the deposition of carbon-rich materials (bedding) with nitrogen sources (urine and feces) from animals. For the full benefits of this composting to be achieved, management, especially of bedding, must be carried out correctly, considering the development requirements of the compost, the use of quality organic material, adequate ventilation, and an ideal rate of animal capacity, so that the generation of heat occurs efficiently. However, there is a general lack of information about the CB system. Hence, there is an increasing need for data surveys of Brazilian regions to compare the diversity of materials used in bedding, assessing energy efficiency and performance over time. Therefore, this bibliographical review addressed the main points of the CB system approach, considering that studies such as this are consistently relevant for rural producers, facilitating decisions regarding the implementation and management of the CB system on their farms.

Physicochemical Bedding Quality in Compost-Bedded Pack Barn Systems for Dairy Cows: A Systematic Review

“…, and CBP 3-lact. were considered in this systematic review for composition of average values; 10 other materials, such as cereal husks and crushed cultural remains, were also used; 11 bedding area per animal variable between treatments and periods of the year; 12 in addition to positive pressure ventilation, suction equipment was also used to extract hot and humid air deep into the bedding; 13 intense turning with rotary tiller, associated with ventilation by floor bedding ventilation for periods of 15 min every 6 h; 14 other details about the facility characteristics were not specified; 15 collections carried out at the two indicated stations, as reported by the authors; 16 collections of bedding carried out in CBP systems, without limiting further details about facilities; 17 despite briefly discussing ventilation, it was not clearly mentioned which ventilation systems were used; 18 bedding area per animal variable between lots; 19 bedding area per animal variable between batches and season. BAA-bedding area per animal, in m…”

“…For dairy cattle, in particular, the compost-bedded pack barn (CBP) system, considered an alternative to traditionally used systems (tie-stall (TS) and free-stall with cubicles (FS)), has been gaining prominence and use worldwide in the last decades [5,[7][8][9][10]. In CBP, the cows are housed in collective facilities with bedding made of soft and comfortable organic materials, which, together with the excrements deposited by the animals and under certain conditions, decompose over time-Figure 1 [11,12].…”