Out-wintering pads (OWPs) are a cattle-housing system in which a layer of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

residue (often ~50 mm

woodchips Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw material ...

is placed over an artificially drained surface to control solid and liquid

excreta Excretion is a process in which metabolic waste is eliminated from an organism. In vertebrates this is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specific tasks after lea ...

from animal confinement. In some climates such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, OWPs allow

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

to be housed outdoors over winter. “Spent” timber residues (STRs, timber residues soiled with animal excreta) can be applied to land as a source of

organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...

and nutrients.Augustenborg, C.A.; O.T. Carton; R.P.O. Schulte; and I. H. Suffet (2008
"Silage Dry-Matter Yield and Nitrogen Response following Land Application of Spent Timber Residue from Out-Wintering Pads to Irish Grassland"
''Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis'',39:7,1122—1137.

References

{{reflist Agricultural buildings Cattle