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Saving money...saving time...improving health...and reducing mastitis – the majority of our members would love to achieve these objectives.

Gareth Llewellin, from Cotland Farm, Llawhaden, Narberth, Pembrokeshire has successfully managed to achieve all of these goals for both himself and his 170 cows after switching from a straw based bedding system to one with mattresses and sawdust. Sourcing the sawdust through FM Direct saves him money; applying them through his Kersten spreader saves him time, and the superior moisture absorbency of the bedding over straw has cut his mastitis levels and resulted in happier, healthier cows. “Although we grow cereals and use the straw from there, we still had to buy some in, and when the decision was taken to build a new cubicle shed we thought sawdust would be better for the cows – and that has been the case,” he said.

“Our mastitis cases have dropped 25% compared to the old building and straw system. I estimate around 10% of that can be attributed to the sawdust.

”Gareth’s relatives had tried different types of sawdust but said that Agrisorb, produced by Ardenwood and one of the range of sawdust grades supplied by FM Direct – was the best because it was more absorbent. Gareth believes he saves 10% on his annual sawdust costs by purchasing through FM Direct.

The Kersten sawdust dispenser, which sweeps the back of the beds and then lays the sawdust down, saves him around 35 minutes a day, he estimates. “If we had to do this by hand, it would take around 45 minutes to do all the cubicles. With the machine and a high quality sawdust going through it, the job takes only ten minutes which is a major time saving.”

Now Gareth is looking at what more he could save by using FM Direct. “When it comes to the Spring I’ll definitely be checking fertiliser prices,” he says.