Allow cows to walk at their own pace along tracks and through gateways. They will walk more slowly on uneven or stony surfaces.

A good rule is to stay 2 posts back from the last cow on the laneway. This gives the cows space and let them move at their own pace so they can place their feet safely.

If cows heads are up they can't see where to place their feet. YOU ARE TOO CLOSE IF THIS IS OCCURING! The reality is that by pushing the last cows even though you are frustrated the herd won't get to the yard any quicker. Dominant cows throughout the herd dictate the speed they move along the laneway.

Often you will see lame cows as you are bringing them to the shed. This is especially so in the last 50m before the yard. Try to get some paint on her, record her number and report this to your manager.

Let cows have a comfortable amount of space in the yard so they can move into their milking order. That's around 1.5 m2 for Friesians and 1.2 m2 for Jersey cows.

White line disease is predominantly caused on the yard by cow twisting on their feet to get away from other cows, backing gates or people ( DON'T go on the yard! ). The twisting causes the whiteline to weaken and then allows stones to penetrate on laneways.

HEADS UP, this is an indication that the cows are packed too tightly in the yard.

This will lead to stress, bullying and injury.

Move the backing gate regularly as the herd is milked, for a maximum of 5 seconds each time.

Only take up the empty space behind cows and make sure cows have enough space to move around.

NEVER push cows with the backing gate.

This will stress the cows and lead to injury including lameness.

Wash any gravel off the yard after every milking. Standing on these is very painful and can cause sole penetration.