Agricultural Articles

‘Farm Building Maintenance’

With many Farmers now having finished harvest, attentions will turn to winter jobs, including building maintenance. Post-harvest farm building maintenance is essential to ensure that buildings are well-maintained and in good condition to store crops recently harvested, ensure machinery that will be in shelter over the winter months is secure and for livestock that will now move to being under cover for longer periods.  It’s important to ensure these repairs are carried out safely by a competent contractor.

Our Maintenance team are expertly skilled in the maintenance and repairs of a multitude of buildings, from cattle sheds to machinery stores. Whether this is repairing or replacing broken guttering, replacing roof sheeting or other building maintenance, our teams can help make sure your assets are protected and help you get the most out of your current buildings.

If recent storms have damaged buildings, we can also work with insurance companies to assist in a speedy repair, from minor repairs to full re-builds, get in touch today.

‘Back British Farming Day’

Back British Farming Day 11th September 2024. We’re proud to be able to work with some wonderful farming companies to provide them with quality structures for animal housing, parlour buildings, grain stores, machinery sheds and much more.  Our teams also carryout maintenance works on farm buildings to ensure our farmers get the most out of their buildings.

We pride ourselves in offering  quality service, we don’t cut corners or hide prices, or goal is to ensure all our clients assets are kept safe and secure in the buildings we constructs, whether this is grains, machinery or livestock.

We’d like to thank all our British Farmers who work so hard all year round and especially at harvest time, to provide us with quality, honestly produced food and take care of our beautiful countryside.

Why choose Galvanized steel?

There are different options available for coating steel, choosing a galvanised steel will provide a highly durable finish, reducing the likelihood of maintenance in the future and protecting the steel from the elements as well as other substances such as fuels.

Galvanizing reduces the chance of rusting and protects the steel from scratches and dents due to the zinc coating.

Galvanised steel is especially beneficial to farm buildings as it is hygienic for use around livestock and easy to clean, which is necessary.  It will help the structure last longer and will reduce costs for maintenance such as re-painting.

Why refurbish an existing building?

It is often more cost effective to refurbish an existing building than to re-locate and we can assist in designing and carrying out modifications required to optimise the performance of redundant or unusable buildings. For example, re-cladding an existing building can result in improved energy efficiency, improved ventilation, prolonged lifespan and an immediate aesthetic improvement.  Adding a mezzanine area can increase the overall floor space reducing cramped conditions.

Good ventilation in livestock housing is imperative for healthy livestock to minimise illness.

Such alterations often require Planning Permission and Building Regulation approval.  Contact our Design Team who can help with this and any other aspect of refurbishment.

Our Small Works Team can carry out all types of repairs, refurbishment and maintenance to Agricultural Buildings, whether caused by general wear and tear or damage from storm, fire, flood or malicious intent.

We are on hand to carry out any general repairs to buildings and also work closely with insurance companies to offer a complete repair and refurbishment service. Buildings benefit from regular inspection and maintenance and we can also offer a Maintenance Contract service to ensure issues are dealt with before they become problematic or result in the loss of production and earnings.

Dated or worn-out buildings can lead to under-performance both in energy use and functionality. The refurbishment of existing Commercial or Industrial Buildings by, for example, updating insulation materials and layout can breathe new life into otherwise tired and outdated buildings.

Slurry Infrastructure Grant

Defra have announced this week that the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant is now open for applications with more than twice as much funding available than the first round.

Farmers can apply for grants of £25,000 to £250,000 to fund the replacement, cover and building of extra slurry storage as well as equipment funding.

Find out more here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/74m-investment-to-reduce-water-and-air-pollutionfrom-slurry

Calf Housing Grant

Grants of between £15,000 and £500,000 are now available.

Adequate ventilation, humidity and temperature are crucial for calf rearing to allow calves to thrive and improve performance. Improved housing can lead to better growth and feed conversion for dairy, beef and calf units as well as better animal welfare.

‘You can apply for a grant if you’re an existing cattle farmer carrying out farming activity, including calf rearing, with 11 or more cattle. Any buildings you build or upgrade with money from the grant must be located in England.’

More information on the available grants can be found on the Defra website:
https://lnkd.in/ewpFsvWG

Replacing or upgrading a building can help achieve this.  Our teams are experienced in constructing housing for a variety of livestock as well as carrying out repairs and refurbishments on existing buildings.

Agricultural Building Refurbishment

Why refurbish an existing livestock building?

• Improved energy efficiency
• Better ventilation
• Animal Welfare

All our livestock buildings are designed and constructed with animal welfare as a priority.  Providing adequate ventilation in cattle housing is necessary to ensure good air flow and air quality, allowing fresh air to circulate will help reduce the spread of respiratory and airborne diseases.

The 5 freedoms developed by the Animal Welfare Council set out to ensure good welfare standards are met by those who look after livestock. Freedom from Discomfort – providing an appropriate environment including shelter and comfortable resting area, this starts with well-designed livestock housing.

The buildings should provide enough ventilation throughout the year for the type, size and number of stock to be housed in them. Where appropriate, roofs should be insulated to reduce solar penetration.

The Five Freedoms are:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour;

2. Freedom from discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area;

3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment;

4. Freedom to express normal behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animals’ own kind;

5. Freedom from fear and distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.