Roadways

Farmers recognise that having good quality Roadways are essential for maintaining healthy hoofs in dairy herds.

Farm roadways can have many defects that may be causing problems for cows and cattle. These defects may include, potholes, a roadway that’s too level, ruts from wheel tracks, a
raised hump of soil under the fence at either side, and tracks made between the
fence and the roadway or on the roadway.
Problems for animals are caused by; pebbles and loose stones on the surface, bumpy surface with secure stones, lodged/trapped water on the surface and roadway levels which are lower than the field. Poorly constructed roadways may lead to problems with cows becoming lame.

Contact us Today for a Quote on upgrading/installing a new Roadway

Better Roadways save you on expensive Hoof Treatments

Minimising lameness is important for cow health but also for cutting down on expensive treatments for when animals become lame.

A New Zealand lameness expert, Neil Chesterton, visited Ireland during the summer of 2020 and during his time in Ireland he made some very interesting observations;

• Cows walk with their heads down so that they can see smooth parts of the roadway to place their hooves, avoiding any sharp stones.
• The cow’s rear foot will land in the exact same position as the front foot, allowing all four hooves to land on a smooth surface avoiding injury to the hoof.
• Most farm roadways are well constructed with mostly smooth surfaces, but there are always sections immersed in water/muck.

Farm roadways need to be free of water/muck at all times and this requires roadways to be planned and constructed carefully so that the roadway does not sink below the level of the adjacent field.

Nitrates regulations from 2021

Changes proposed under the new Nitrates regulations regarding farm roadways will have implications for farmers. These regulations state: ‘There shall be no direct runoff of soiled water from farm roadways to waters from 1 January 2021.’

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Before & After – Slide the Arrows to view Roadway prior & after Works

Call us today for a Free Quote – 086 – 82 77 288

We can meet you at a day and time that suits you on your Farm and walk through a solution that is affordable and effective to your needs.

Essentially, the roadway;

1. needs to be cleaned with the top 4/5 inches loosened up.
2. Crushing takes place.
3. The material is graded with the desired falls.
4. Road is then compacted with whacker plates.
5. If rock is on the farm it can be dug out and placed on roadway and roughly levelled and then crushed.
6. We also blind roadways with the grading blade and compact the passageway for the long-term.