Rocky outcrops that looked like nothing but obstacles for the mower have turned into a building material for dairy farmer Ewan McCracken, who writes in his Farmer Focus column for Farmers Weekly that land can hold value "below the till line" as well as in its sward and soil.
The family recently acquired a block of land as an out-block for rearing youngstock. Last week they began building a 370m cow track to reach a 3.5ha (9-acre) paddock; until now they shared a lane with a neighbour's herd. Importing hundreds of tonnes of crushed rock, diggers, tractors and labour soon adds up, he writes, but the brittle, shaley rock dug from the farm's own outcrops has proved ideal for roadways in place of bought-in hardcore.
Good tracks take significant time and capital, but McCracken expects them to cut future hoof repair costs. The farm had seen more white line infections and soft tissue hoof injuries while cows grazed that block, where a hard tarmac surface combined with gravel made a perfect setting for hoof trauma.
Because he and his father treat injured feet themselves, he writes, it was easy to lose sight of the true cost without a hoof trimmer's invoice. A severe white line infection needs one shoe, a fifth of a tube of shoe glue, antibacterial spray, 50ml of antibiotic and 15ml of anti-inflammatory, plus 17 litres a day of milk lost for five days, before counting reduced fertility and early culling.
He hopes the new lane will prove a very worthwhile investment.
Source: Farmers Weekly
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