70 Farmers, One Barn, Zero Fluff – Willesden Open Day Wrap-Up
Over 70 farmers turned up to walk through Willesden’s 31 m × 185 m composting barn, the heart of a...
ReadThe Gist: Willie and Sally Bosch run a 250-cow dairy operation in Carterton, Wairarapa. They built a hybrid composting barn with NumatAGRI Construction – part winter barn, part stand-off pad.
Over 60 farmers showed up to the open day on 9 October, saw it working, and fired questions at Willie. The barn finished its first season strong – less pasture damage in wet weather, production benefits, easier calving, and cows in better nick.
Big Pain Points Solved
No more pugging paddocks to mud in winter. Cows stay clean and comfortable on compost bed, production stays stable year-on-year, they can increase cow numbers and cows are fed better. Calving happens under cover – quick checks on cold mornings, less stress for cows and crew.
Feed both sides, loafing area in the middle keeps things simple. Willie picked a mono-pitch roof to cut costs without cutting corners – built fast in three months.
The Vision and Motivation
Farm Stability: Willie and Sally, who bought the farm five years ago, were looking for a way to achieve year-on-year production stability regardless of the weather, especially during the challenging spring season. They are in an extreme wind zone and needed a structure that would last, hoping it would “still be standing here in 50 years time”.
Cow Welfare: A primary driver for the composting barn was the ability to look after the cows well, especially in rough weather, getting them off the wet pastures to keep them nice and dry so the farmers could sleep well.
Feeding Efficiency: The idea evolved from simply feeding maize in troughs on the side of a race, which turned into “slob” during wet weather. The barn allows them to feed “something proper” like maize, DDG, and PK, ensuring every cow gets its fair share and resulting in production gains.
Quick Facts:
- Location: Carterton, Wairarapa
- Herd size: 250 cows
- Barn size: 82.8m long x 14m wide (12m centre + overhangs)
- Design: Hybrid composting – feed faces both sides, 12m central loafing/compost area
- Roof: Mono-pitch, 5° slope for cost savings
- Build time: Mid-May to end-July (3 months)
- Key materials: H5 timber poles, Prolam rafters, mesh curtains, 740m³ woodchip bed
- First season wins: 30% less pasture damage, smoother calving, better cow health
- Cost: $350,000 including earthworks, concrete, curtains and feedface. The whole lot.
The barn captures all effluent, ditching the need for ponds. It allows them to responsibly increase their cow numbers up to the consented limits, which would not be possible without the shelter due to weather challenges.
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Full Q&A: Willie Bosch Composting Barn Open Day
Q&A session with Willie Bosch about the practical implementation and first-season results of his composting barn.
Motivation and Planning: The decision to build a composting barn was driven by the inability to increase cow numbers due to maxed-out effluent area for their flat land. After ruling out wintering barns due to reliability concerns, they focused on a structure that would allow them to feed cows better.
Current Use and Routine: Since its construction, the barn was first used for calving and is now used primarily as a feed pad. Cows are brought in around 1:30 PM for a couple of hours of feeding before heading to the shed for milking.
Feeding and Production Gains: By feeding higher-quality feed like maize, DDG, and PK in a controlled environment, they are doing better with their production and are able to sustain afternoon milkings right until Christmas, whereas in previous years they had to revert to once-a-day much earlier. They have seen a lift from about 1.9 to just over 2.0 milk solids per cow. The barn also results in significant feed saving, particularly when feeding hay.
Composting Bed Management: The bed is close to one meter deep and consists of about 500 cubic meters of wood chip and 600 cubic meters of sawdust. Willie emphasizes the simple principle: “cow feces, cow piss, and air aeration makes compost”. To minimize cost and work, he only rips (aerates) the bed once a week, though he acknowledges more frequent ripping is ideal.
Cow Welfare and Health: Cow comfort has been excellent; on the first morning, “not a single cow was standing,” as they were all laying down, which Willie felt was a sign it “paid for itself already”. They have seen an improvement in animal health, noting they haven’t picked up a mastitis cow since mid-August.
Cost: The whole structure, designed for 250 cows, cost around $350,000. They added extra features like curtains and a wider 1.5-meter concrete apron to prevent feed waste.
The Composting System
Environmental Benefit: The composting aspect addresses the issue of effluent management, as their effluent storage area was already maxed out.
The Bedding Material: The composting bed contains about 500 cubic meters of wood chip and 600 cubic meters of sawdust.
Aeration: Willie explains the science simply as “cow poo, cow piss, and air aeration makes compost.” He rips the bed, or aerates it, about once or twice a week.
Results and Future Benefits
Immediate Comfort: The morning after the first night with the cows inside, Willie arrived to find “not a single cow was standing,” as they were all sitting down and resting, which was a sight that made him feel it “paid for itself already”.
Long-Term Impact: The barn’s benefits include production gains, saving pasture from damage (paddock damage), and allowing them to responsibly increase their cow numbers up to the consented limits, which would not be possible without the shelter due to weather challenges.
The family believes the composting barn is going to “really set this farm up for our family” in the future.
Open day feedback from farmers
Beyond the cost benefits, the attendees praised the barn’s superior contribution to animal welfare and health. The structure provides vital benefits that conventional systems lack, serving as shade in summer heat and a warm, dry retreat during wet and cold weather.
This protective environment is seen as essential for keeping cows happy, which in turn helps keep production up and costs down. The enthusiasm at the open day confirms that the composting barn model is viewed as a future-proof system; a positive development for sustainable farming, animal comfort, and the long-term viability of dairy businesses in the region.
Farmers are Embracing the Composting Barn
Feedback from attendees at Willie Bosch’s composting barn open day, focusing on the practical benefits and advantages of the system compared to conventional feed pads.
Low Maintenance: Comparison with traditional concrete feed pads that require constant cleaning and scraping.
Feed Utilization: Eliminating feed waste and increasing the efficiency of supplementary feeding.
Animal Welfare: Providing necessary shade in summer and a warm, dry environment in winter/wet weather.
Cost Efficiency: The potential to lift production and keep overall operating costs down.
Future Use: Ideas for maximizing the barn’s use, including hybrid setups and the potential for future automation (e.g., mobile robots).
A Heartfelt Thank You to Willie, Sally, and the Bosch Family
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to Willie and Sally Bosch and their family for their incredible generosity in hosting the Composting Barn Open Day at Creaming It farm. Your willingness to open your gates and be so completely transparent about the real-world results, research, and costs behind your new system is a true service to the farming community.
The practical insights shared provide invaluable lessons for other farmers considering the shift to a future-proof off-paddock system.
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to helping others succeed.
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