Major reasons why businesses have built compost sheds relate to mitigating heat stress and driving per cow performance through offering a mixed diet. Data from the US also indicates that in comparison to free stalls, they have lower capital and operating costs. Evidence from the US also indicates improved cow comfort and less health problems when farms have converted from free stalls to compost sheds.

There is a lack of data and information regarding the financial and productivity benefit/cost of integrating compost sheds into Australian dairy systems, particularly as they relate to various economic and biophysical operating environments.

To address this, Subtropical Dairy commissioned the following case studies on how compost sheds are performing under Australian conditions.