Watch: new handling unit for large suckler herd

Between calving over 110 cows next spring to finishing all stock on farm, it is fair to say Mark Lewis handles a high number of stock every year.

“The new handling unit was not only done to increase safety on the farm but to also improve the speed and efficiency that we handle cattle,” according to Mark, who is based outside Portadown in Co Armagh.

“We have three or four smaller-scale, older-style handling units built into other sheds but these were not safe. To get cattle to them it meant having to move other pens of stock out of the way and we really ended up upsetting the entire shed.”

With bulls being finished on the farm at between 14 and 16 months of age, good handling facilities are key.

As more farmers look towards finishing bulls, it is also important to ensure that the facilities will cope with these animals.

Bulls will, in general, be more aggressive than steers and heifers so this should be taken into account when handling them.

“Now we have one dedicated place to bring all of the stock, which just makes life a lot easier. Not only this but we found ourselves carrying out jobs on time because they are more convenient to do but we are also doing things that we would not have done before. We can now weigh cattle every six to eight weeks easily. This means that we can keep an eye on replacement heifer weights to ensure we hit targets,” Mark said.

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The concrete yard that the unit is sitting on is approximately 23m long by 9.1m wide. The entire surface of the floor is grooved to provide a non-slip surface for cattle.

The unit is made up of two holding pens and a circular forcing pen. A long race leads up to a crush that is fitted with a weighing scales. The combination of the race and crush measures approximately 12m in total. The crush is also fitted with a head scoop which has allowed cows to receive a bolus.

“We would never have bolused cows on this farm before as we never had the facilities to do so. The new facilities mean that this job is now possible. We bolused over 100 cows in a few hours without any issues,” Mark said.

A raised area is in place along the inside of the race which ensures Mark has better access to cattle when in the race.

Pictures three, four and five

A large circular forcing pen is used to push cattle towards the mouth of the race. Both of the forcing gates can rotate 360° on a centre post, meaning that a farmer never has to stand in the same pen as cattle.

Notches are in place around the edge of the forcing pen which prevent the animals from pushing the gate back on the handler.

The forcing pen is lined with stock board which prevents animals from being distracted by movement outside of the forcing pen.

It also means that the only light entering the pen is from the mouth of the crush, which cattle will naturally move towards.

A guillotine gate is in place at the back of the race. These are much safer to close from a farmer’s point of view than conventional swinging gates.

The handling unit is fully operational. However, a roof is yet to be added to the shed.

Another shed on the farm recently completed which is being used for winter housing was the priority to get finished.

Now that this has been finished, attention will turn to completing the shed for the handling unit. There is a lot of water around the handling unit currently. However, once a roof is on the shed this will not be an issue.

The handling unit and shed surrounding it will cost a total of approximately £21,000 excluding VAT, according to Mark. All barriers and the crush were supplied by Teemore Engineering and came to a total cost of £9,000 plus VAT, while the concrete and steelwork when the shed is completed will cost approximately £12,000 plus VAT.

“It’s a big investment to make but I would rather have this than a new tractor,” Mark said. “People will be put of these kind of projects due to the cost but what price do you put on a broken leg for either man or beast.”