Apocalyptic weather conditions

This week has seen rain on an apocalyptic scale, with many areas of the country experiencing destructive flooding. These developments will prompt many farmers to move their cattle indoors in the coming days. Housed animals are at increased risk from a range of infectious diseases (more on this on our platform over the coming weeks).

Therefore, it is of critical importance that farmers employ good hygiene practices prior to, and during, winter housing. In particular, all animal houses and cubicles need to be carefully and thoroughly disinfected.

Cubicle lime and infection reduction

The application of lime to cubicles is one of the key measures that farmers can take to reduce the risk of spreading infections in the herd. Lime has excellent soakage properties and is known to increase cubicle bed pH and prevent the growth of bacteria.

However, farmers should be aware that contact with cubicle lime can have negative health impacts, and must be used with extreme care. In particular, it is important that lime is kept away from the eyes and that it is not inhaled.

Advice for farmers

With this in mind, farmers are being encouraged to exercise caution when liming animal cubicles for housing. Teresa Roche, Vice Chair of National Farm Family and Social Affairs with the IFA, has issued a statement encouraging farmers to use cubicle lime to their advantage by adhering to health and safety guidelines.

The health and safety guidelines outlined by the IFA on the organisation’s website this week are as follows:

·       Wear a pair of safety goggles and a face mask when spreading it to avoid lime getting into your eyes and inhaling it.

·       Milking gloves will protect your hands and help avoid the lime coming into contact with your skin.

·       Use a scoop or a handheld container to lime the cubicles.

The importance of hygiene

The IFA emphasises the importance of maintaining good hygiene when managing cattle cubicles, to ensure that the cubicle bed is clean and dry. Passageways, cubicles and yards should be scraped at least twice a day. Cubicles should also be scrubbed down and limed twice a day, to ensure that surfaces are thoroughly disinfected.