It all starts from VIC – 4dBarn's blog serie on one of the most important areas of barn design.

VIC area – where your most important cows live

Let's return to the VIC cows after a long break from the blog! The first part of our three-part blog series focuses on last summer's VIC study and its findings. VIC stands for Very Important Cow – cows that are waiting to calve, are calving, or have recently calved. These cows require special conditions for successful calving and early lactation. 

What is the VIC study?

During the summer of 2024 we studied 4dBarn Designed VIC areas, and the results were presented at the 4dBarn Dairy Welfare seminar in December 2024. We wanted to find out how different VIC solutions work in practice, what benefits they bring, and whether there are any challenges to be addressed in our future projects.

What types of VIC areas have been implemented on farms?

For the study we selected farms where VIC areas had been implemented in slightly different ways. Some farms used only a deep bedded pack area as a VIC solution. Others used a combination: deep bedded pack area for cows waiting calving and calving cows, and stalls for cows that had just calved. A few farms had also switched from the original deep bedded pack area solution to a model where cows that had just calved were kept in stalls, for example due to space constraints or bedding consumption. In a few cases where cows that had just calved were in stalls, they also had their own VIC robot. In these cases, the cows that had just calved formed a whole robot group.

Despite the different solutions, one thing was clear: a calving pen alone is not enough. Practical experiences and research shows that it’s not enough to support a cow during the entire VIC phase. At 4dBarn, we pay attention to all VIC cows, because we know that it is these cows that build the herd's maximum production.

What did we learn?

The VIC area has been one of the key elements of 4dBarn's design from the very beginning. Now, research has confirmed its crucial role in the functionality of the barn and the welfare of the animals. The importance of the VIC is particularly visible in daily work. Farmers said they consider the VIC area so important that they would not give it up at any price. It was found to have a significant impact on both the smooth running of work and the recovery and welfare of the animals. A well-designed VIC area is not only functional but also easy to maintain: bedding can be done quickly, cows can be easily fetched for milking when needed, and monitoring can be carried out effortlessly. According to the summer study, maintenance of the VIC area took only about 10% of the daily working time in the barn – efficiency at its best.

Are you planning a new barn?

 Are you considering different VIC solutions? Would you like to learn how VIC works in practice – how to measure, manage, and maintain it correctly?

👉 Join our VIC e-course! You will find answers to questions such as:

· How much space do fresh cows really need?

· How much feeding table space is sufficient for VIC cows?

· When does the VIC-area demonstrate its full potential?

And when you want to take things to the next level...

📞 Contact us – we will design a VIC solution that is perfectly suited to your barn and works in practice!

👉 In our next blog, we will take a closer look at the challenges of VIC and the practical solutions that work on farms. Stay tuned!