Cleaning and scraping the floor of your milking parlour or the passage ways where your cattle often walk is part of your daily routine as a farmer. Unfortunately, after a while, these frequent cleaning actions transform your concrete floor into a highly slippery surface. The cowshed floor becomes dangerous for the animals, and accidents happen. In the worst-case scenario, badly injured cows will have to be culled…

The good news is that there is a cost-effective solution for slippery concrete floors that prevent cows from falling: concrete grooving.

What is concrete grooving?

Concrete grooving describes the process of etching or cutting lines (called “grooves”) into a concrete surface. This is the most used non-slip solution picked by farmers to prevent their cows from slipping and injuring themselves.

Grooving can be performed on smooth concrete floors that had been poured more than 6 months ago (ideally more than 12 months ago). If a slippery concrete surface has been previously grooved, scarification might be a better option.

Professionally grooved floors last between 10 and 12 years on average, which makes grooving a cost-effective, non-slip solution for very smooth surfaces. This technique ensures optimal grip for your cattle: if one of your cows slips, grooves will stop its hooves from slipping any further. The cow will not fall or injure itself; it will feel more confident when walking towards the same spot later in the day.

Concrete grooving is very often used in UK dairy units for its efficiency and affordable costs.

How does it work?

Grooving patterns follow the cows’ flow of traffic, so cut lines can catch cows’ hooves if they slip. In other words, parallel grooves run along alleys, following the passage’s direction. When a cow slips on a smooth surface, its hooves go sideways, which can cause falls and harm, and a lot of stress. Cows have a great memory: if they have previously fallen  somewhere, they will remember this traumatic event for a long time. They will then stress every time they have to walk by the dangerous zone.

Grooving patterns are adapted to each farm and cowsheds’ configuration so your cattle also feel safe when walking or standing (when they go into heat, for instance): milking parlour, corridors, turns, etc.

At Vermot, a leading concrete floor cutting company since 1989, grooves are 10–13 mm deep (0.39-0.51”), 18 mm wide (0.71”), and spaced out every 60 mm (2.36”). The dimensions are perfect to provide exceptional grip for your cattle without damaging your floor or their hooves.

The UK company creates and builds its own concrete grooving machines for long-lasting results. The self-propelled machines create grooves into concrete thanks to an ingenious carbide cutting technique. A sharp tungsten carbide pointed tip is able to penetrate through concrete surfaces without disturbing livestock in an efficient way. That’s why farmers like you choose Vermot to help them treat their slippery floors and save their cattle from bad injuries.

Grooving is the most popular solution for preventing injuries and culls

Grooving is a popular solution to treat very smooth and slippery concrete surfaces in the agricultural world for a multitude of reasons:

• It reduces slip-related accidents and injuries: grooves catch cows’ hooves if your cattle slip while walking or standing on concrete.
• Grooving is a cost-effective solution because it’s cheaper than taking a badly injured dairy cow to a slaughterhouse.
• Concrete grooving for dairy units protects young and older cows from slipping and falling. Your cattle are not nervous when walking towards the milking parlour.
• Grooves can last up to 12 years if done by experts like Vermot.
• Grooved floors encourage mounting, which helps farmers detect heat more easily. Cows are not afraid of falling; they are not nervous anymore.
• Non-stressed cows walk faster and tend to produce more milk. Happy cows, happy farmers.
• Quick worksite preparation and very little cleaning after the process.
• High-performance machines can cover up to 100 sq m per hour.

It’s time to protect heifers and older cows from life-threatening injuries!

Say goodbye to slippery cowsheds

Concrete grooving is a durable anti-slip solution that stops cows feeling nervous when they walk or stand on a previously slippery floor that is now safe. Less slippage means fewer injuries to cows and higher profitability for farmers.

Before the grooving process, you have to prepare corridors and other surfaces you want to treat for technicians to be able to groove your slippery concrete surfaces. Wet the concrete and scrap it thoroughly the night before.

During grooving, technicians connect their concrete grooving machine to a water tap. Water helps cool the tungsten carbide tip that creates grooves down. It also drastically reduces the amount of dust created during the process. 170-horsepower grooving machines can cover 80 sq m to 100 sq m an hour and produce a constant sound: cows are not disturbed if they are present in the shed.

Now that your concrete floor is grooved, you just need to do a good cleaning to get rid of any potential gravel left behind the machine. Hello safe, non-slippery concrete floor!

How much does it cost in the UK?

In the United Kingdom, concrete grooving is often cheaper than taking a cow to a slaughterhouse. Sadly, each year, too many farmers have to say goodbye to several cows because these slipped on a non-grooved floor, fell and suffered from very bad injuries.

Save your cattle from accidents: contact Vermot today, the leading concrete grooving company in the UK!