Around this time of year we get a LOT of enquiries from farmers about cubicle lime. Normally they've seen some available somewhere at a phenomenal price and want to know why it's so cheap.
As with most things in life...you get what you pay for.
When it comes to cubicle lime there are several grades on the market.
GREY/GRITTY: The most basic ones are GREY in colour and if you rub some between your thumb and index finger you will feel a GRITTY TEXTURE. This grit can be hard on the hooves and will tend to sink to the bottom of the slurry tank. The pH of this lime is generally between 7.5 and 8.5 which doesn't kill bacteria but does soak up the moisture helping to prevent the bacteria growing.
WHITE/FLOURY: The next type of lime on the market is WHITE in colour and like FLOUR in feel and touch. This tends to come from Quarries from Northern Ireland. They are generally run through a roller mill which gets rid of all the grit.
Farmer feedback tells us that this limestone goes much further, they cover more cubicles with this product than with the grey type limes. This has a similar pH to the grey lime.
We sell this in 1 tonne bulk bags under the brand name
CUBICAL
HYDRATED MIX: There are a number of cubicle limes now on the market with a % of Hydrated Lime (Rhino or builders lime) mixed in. The % mix varies from 10% to 30% with both the grey and white limes used as the base material.
The advantages of this type of product is that the pH levels are raised considerably (approx. 12.5) which will kill most bacteria. Farmer feedback tells us that the lower 10% hydrated lime mix results in the same bacteria killing power as the 30% but with a much lower level of skin/teat burning.
We sell this in 1 tonne bulk bags under the brand name
MASTERCAL
FULLY HYDRATED: The final product is FULLY HYDRATED LIME which is excellent at killing bacteria but has the downside of been hard on the teats in certain situations.
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