Easy to Manage in Any System
Cows sleep on DCC Waterbeds in more than 30 countries in a wide variety of dairy sizes, types, and climates. When we ask producers what they believe is the best thing about DCC Waterbeds, they say the same thing:
“DCC Waterbeds are comfortable for cows & require less maintenance.”
With DCC Waterbeds, dairy producers have a choice in their top bedding material and daily cleaning is fast and simple. What’s even better is DCC Waterbeds never pack down and they dry quickly, so if you don’t want to disrupt a resting cow, you don’t need to. She will still be comfortable. This all means less stress for the cow, less work in the barn, less material in the manure stream, and less wear and tear on expensive equipment. DCC Waterbeds are a solution to the dairy management challenge of providing consistent cow comfort with less labor, materials, and maintenance.
We are often faced with producers trying to decide between DCC Waterbeds and a “top-of-the-line” flat cow mattress or mat that may quote up to $100 less per stall. Saving $100 per stall may look good at the time, but those “savings” are quickly erased by the cost of losing cow comfort.
Well-managed sand stalls are comfortable for cows, we won’t argue that. But at what cost? We think you’ll be surprised to see how much the costs add up (especially over time), and hear first-hand from producers who switched from sand and didn’t lose production.
Everything that goes into your dairy system, must come out. For every ton of sand that you put in the free stalls, that same sand must come out. Setting aside the high cost of buying, moving, bedding, and removal of sand bedding (see next page for financial impact), the biggest cost of sand might involve what sand does to your soil over time.
DCC Waterbeds have a lower total cost of ownership than sand. We have produced a cost calculator to help producers fill in real farm data to determine just how much you could save by transitioning to DCC Waterbeds without losing production.
“With just 180 cows we spent an hour every day unplugging sawdust from the manure stream with a fire hose. Now, with 280 cows and about 40 pregnant heifers, we never have to use the hose because there is hardly any sawdust in the system.”
The financial impact of lowering the cull rate and increasing the 4+ lactation cows in a herd can be significant.
Low-maintenance and long life means savings in operating costs. DCC Waterbeds are the least expensive bedding to operate per week, and have a 15-20 year life expectancy.
Considering robots? Tie the system together with DCC Waterbeds.
DCC Waterbeds have proven to be one of the most popular bedding choices to pair with robots.