X Barn Design 



Layout and facilities for efficient 

 chore work should be one of the ma- 

 jor problems in building a new barn 

 or in remodelling an old one. Barn 

 construction costs are large but so 

 are the labor costs in taking care of 

 milk cows. If we include chore la- 

 bor, "It is the upkeep that costs." 

 The wrong kind of layout and facili- 

 ties can easily represent an annual 

 cost of $1,000 or more on a large 

 dairy farm. 



The stakes are sufficiently great so 

 that the operator can afford to de- 

 vote months to his planning of lay- 

 out and facilities. Most dairymen are 

 in a transition stage and will prob- 

 ably be operating differently and on 

 a larger scale five or ten years from 

 now. Plans for construction should 

 take into account the operator's best 

 judgment of his future as well as his 

 present organization. Thus he may 

 build in such a way as to serve pres- 

 ent needs and yet with sufficient flex- 

 ibility to serve future needs. One 

 end of the barn, preferably the end 

 where the cleaning center is erected, 

 could be constructed in such a way 

 that a one-story addition could be 

 added whenever needed to house ad- 

 ditional cows. At this time it is dif- 

 ficult to predict how roughage will be 

 handled on a given farm five years 

 from now. An individual operator, 

 however, may visualize that he will 

 eventually have 100 tons of grass si- 

 lage, 125 tons of corn silage, and 60 

 tons of chopped hay. He may well 

 plan his construction accordingly, per- 

 haps outlining a construction pro- 

 gram to be developed as needed. If 

 he decides that he can feed hay or 

 silage outdoors to advantage for sev- 

 eral months of the year, he can re- 

 duce the roughage storage space in 

 the barn. 



Special attention should be given 

 to the location of storage facilities 



so that materials can be gotten in and 

 out easily and yet will conform to the 

 best pattern of chore work. (See 

 Chapter IV on work centers.) The 

 use of mechanical aids, such as carts 

 and conveyors, will no doubt increase 

 in the next ten years. Adequate space 

 in alleyways leading from feed work 

 center to feed alley will be very im- 

 portant. If feed carts are to be used, 

 the travel route should be free of 

 dips. Considerable energy and time 

 is required to turn a lai*ge silage cart 

 in an inadequate space or to push it 

 uphill. There should be a handy and 

 adequate space for every cart t-he 

 operator expects to use. For in- 

 stance, if a man plans to use a grain 

 cart, a larger mechanical silage cart, 

 and a sawdust cart, special provision 

 should be made in the feed work cen- 

 ter so that the grain cart and silage 

 cart are in position to be filled in 

 place and yet are out of the way of 

 other activities. The sawdust cart 

 should be so located that it can also 

 be filled in place and yet not inter- 

 fere with other chores. 



Since the trend is toward some me- 

 chanical means of cleaning gutters, 

 the arrangement of the barn layout 

 should be made with this in mind. It 

 is desirable to leave space in the con- 

 crete floor for installation of con- 

 veyor, etc., to make it easier to in- 



TRENCH SILO 



X 



BUNKS 

 YOUNG STOCK 



Fig. 55. Silage stored in trench silo 

 also can be fed outside in 

 bunks. 



61 



