ABSTRACT
Between 1950 and the mid 1970s, dairy-herd numbers in the UK increased from an average of 30 cows to over 80 cows. In the winter, for between 150 and 180 days, herds were usually housed indoors in cubicles or beds that were slightly shorter than the animal so that her tail could hang over the edge, raised by 9 inches from the concrete passage, and she could wander in and out at will. Every day each cow produced some 12–15 gallons of cow dung which fell into this ‘loafing’ area. The disposal of this slurry had become a major problem.
