90% Lameness Reduction with Rubber Matting at Grangelands Farms

Putaruru, Waikato

Located just out of Putaruru, in the Waikato, is Grangelands Farm. A 420-cow dairy farm run and operated by Paul Scheres. In early 2022, Paul got in touch with NumatAGRI to install new rubber matting in his 44 internal rotary shed, after seeing experiencing the benefits of rubber matting at his other farm down the road.

Because of the structure of the rotary shed at Grangelands Farm, there is a lot of 90-degree turning for the cows to make as they come on and off the platform. Paul was watching the animals grind their hooves on the concrete as they adjusted their footing, and depending on the feed that was being used, the debris on the surface was creating abrasive friction.

Having already installed NumtAGRI rubber matting in his other milking shed in Tapapa, Paul decided to install some more mats at his Putaruru farm.

The new NumatAGRI rubber matting has been a game changer for both the cows at Grangelands Farm and, Paul and his team.

“It has improved the way that we farm. Lames, cow comfort, just tidiness of the place. It looks smarter.”

- Paul Scheres

Paul has seen a decrease in the number of lame cows on his farm, along with far less slipping, and overall cow comfort. It has also helped milkers spot signs of mastitis and make sure they were catching cows in need of treatment early on.

“With the rubber matting, they seem to be a lot more content. It’s actually quite hard to find lames now because they are actually comfortable. With it [the rubber mats] being black, mastitis and stripping the cow out, you see it quite clearly on the black matting and it just looks a lot more visually tidy.”

-Paul Scheres

After seeing the results of the rubber matting, Paul also began installing NumatAGRI matting solutions on the entrance to the feed pad at his farm, as well as the pit of his milking shed, with hopes to continue adding rubber in high-traffic concrete areas.