Hamilton firm covers up cows this winter

While it is an unusual sight in the Waikato, thousands of cows are covering up elsewhere in the country  this winter courtesy of a Hamilton firm.

The 50-year-old Hamilton business Duncan’s Canvas made nearly 10,000 covers last year, largely for South Island and Taranaki-based customers.

New Zealand farmers are quickly realising the benefits of cow covers such as reducing feed costs and improving animal health.

Cows who wore covers from June through till mating season saw a 5 percent reduction in the rate of empties (cows not in calf).

Taranaki Farmer Allan Marx said, “Everyone who works with the herd says how easy they are to handle when they are wearing covers.

“The other benefit is how much more settled the cows are when they are grazing, particularly when there is a wind blowing.

“They’re not continually turning their backsides into the wind or trying to get behind other cows. They just keep their heads down and carrying on eating. The result is the paddocks are eaten down better, the cows keep weight on over the colder months and thrive when the spring growth arrives.”

It’s not only farmers who are noticing the huge changes in their animals, but their vets too see a huge difference.

The Marx’s vet Alistar McDougall said, “I didn’t see him all spring and only caught up with him when he was pregnancy testing his cows. The reason I hadn’t seen him was he hardly had a vet out to the farm all season and had fewer sick cows.”

McDougall, from Eltham Veterinary Services, said he had always been a great fan of cow covers, especially in cold, wet, windy conditions.

“A cow with a cover on would use up less metabolic energy keeping warm than one without a cover and the saving in energy could be used for better production and reproduction.

“Marx used 1000 conventional small bales of hay less than usual which at $6 a bale saved him $6000 in feed costs. More than covering the cost of the covers, not to mention the savings he made in animal feed costs.”

Duncan’s Canvas is proud of their seven staff members who make the top quality covers out of various materials.

It’s not only cows who are keeping warm this winter, with sheep, calf and goat covers also being distributed.

Duncan’s Canvas makes a wide range of products including outdoor furniture covers, tarpaulins, palm kernel bin covers, truck covers and anything made from PVC or canvas.