New Agri-Stride Vario slats improving cow comfort in North Yorkshire

SUPA Deep slurry channels delivered

Wolfenden’s latest product innovation – the Agri-Stride range – is proving a success for one Yorkshire farmer and his herd.

At Long Bank Farm in Clapham, North Yorkshire, Colin Price’s herd of 40 pedigree Holsteins are benefitting from Wolfenden’s new flooring solution for herd housing.

Having been aware of Wolfenden’s reputation for cow comfort and innovation in slurry management for the dairy sector for some time, Colin was keen to see the new products at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show. In fact, he says he’d “had his eye on them for a bit”, prior to visiting the Show in July.

The project at Long Bank Farm involved replacing the old flooring channels in the main cow shed with a range of new slats from Wolfenden. These included Supa Strong Diagonal Slats, as well as the newly-launched Agri-Stride Vario slat at the entrance to the passageway.

Installation

Structurally engineered with Wolfenden’s unique Fortis reinforcement system, the Supa Strong Diagonal Slats allow slurry to pass through quickly and efficiently, helping to reduce slurry pooling, making them better for hoof health and reducing emissions. The Agri-Stride Vario Slat is part of Wolfenden’s new suite of hybrid products, combining 50% rubber and 50% concrete for a flooring with exceptional comfort and grip, for more natural animal movement and optimum hoof health. The high number of drainage holes in the rubber cassettes allows for rapid dispersal of liquids and solids to keep floors drier and cleaner, to reduce surface level ammonia emissions by up to 60%.

Since the installation of the new flooring was completed and the herd accessing the passageways, Colin has been pleased with the impact. He comments,
“The new flooring is working really well. The cows are comfortable, and are walking confidently. Ideally, I’d have liked to use the Vario slats along the whole length of the passageway – it’s a great product. Without grant funding, it’s just not feasible at the moment, but I’m very happy that we’ve integrated it where we can.”

Both the Supa Slats and the Agri-Stride range are multi-award-winning products, with the Agri-Stride Vario winning the Engineering Innovation Award at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show, before going on to be named overall winner.

New Agri-Stride Vario Slat at entrance to passageway