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Changes in Agricultural Production Bring 



New Designs into Farm Buildings/ 



Report U. of I. Specialists 



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POSTWAR farm building will result 

 in many changes of structural de- 

 signs. That's the opinion of agricul- 

 tural engineers who have been giving 

 considerable study to the subject. The 

 emphasis will be fitting buildings to 

 the needs of the farm. 



At the University of Illinois College 

 of Agriculture Deane G. Carter, chief 

 of farm structures, reports that more 

 than 100 farm building plans have been 

 developed, ranging from small hog 

 houses and brooder houses to big dairy 

 barns and homes. Any farmer can 

 secure blueprints of these plans at a 

 cost of 20 cents each. Applications 

 may be made through the farm ad- 

 viser's office or to the university. 



The university has made and is con- 

 ducting a number of studies on farm 

 building needs in Illinois and is shap- 

 ing its designs to meet these needs. 



J. B. Andrews of the university ex- 

 tension staff points out that "we want 

 buildings that look good, but at the 

 same time we want buildings that pay." 

 He points out that the buildings must 

 be planned to provide a service that is 

 worth while. 



Changes in agricultural production 

 will mean changes in buildings. Carter 

 points out that mechanization of field 

 crop production, new methods for 

 harvesting hay and various specialized 

 types of farming have affected the need 

 for the general-purpose barn. 



Originally the general-purpose barn 

 was designed for storing loose hay and 

 other feed and for housing work stock. 



Hare is one design in a series of farm 

 building plans being issued by the U. oi L 

 College oi Agriculture in 1945-46. It is 

 plan No. 445 oi a cattle ieeding bam. 

 Blueprints ior this and other plans may be 

 secured ior 20 cents by writing the de- 

 partment oi agricultural engineering, V. oi 

 L College oi Agriculture, Urbana, 111. Per- 

 sons interested in plans oi other iarm 

 buildings may secure iree a list oi blue- 

 print plans irom the ogricultural engineer- 

 ing department University specialists cau- 

 tion against new permanent construction 

 unless it will aid the iood production pro- 

 gram. Amount oi iarm construction, oi 

 course, is limited by government rule. 



cows for family use, and other livestock 

 kept on the general purpose " farm. Car- 

 ter says. 



Some farmers, he says, foresee little 

 use for such general-purpose barns in 

 the future as they believe the need can 

 best be met by having separate struc- 

 tures for crop storage, machinery and 

 various classes of livestock. Others be- 

 lieve the general-purpose barn can be 

 redesigned to make it the center of 

 farming operations, with feed storage, 

 feeding yards and animal shelters con- 

 centrated in a compact group. 



Carter expects many new machine 

 sheds to be built in the postwar period, 

 with very few horse barns constructed. 

 The modern age calls for machinery 

 and sheds to provide protection for im- 

 plements and for space to clean, oil and 

 repair machinery during the winter 

 months. 



The improvement and enlargement 

 of structures for poultry is another 

 one of the important farm building 

 jobs ahead. Carter believes. In a field 

 study of 381 poultry laying houses on 

 320 farms in 11 counties of Illinois, 

 it was found that the average age of 

 the poultry houses was 21.7 years and 

 average depreciation 34.2 per cent. 



As a result of this field study he ob- 

 served that many poultry buildings are 

 not adequate in size, shape or condition 

 to enable the operator to carry out rec- 

 ommended practices. The survey also 

 revealed a tendency to use movable 

 hsuses as brooders and as laying houses 

 for small flocks. 



In a recent field study of general-pur- 

 pose barns on 320 Illinois farms, it was 

 revealed that with the exception of the 

 farm dwelling, the barn is the oldest 

 building on Illinois farms. About 10 

 per cent of the barns have been re- 

 paired extensively and about one-fourth 

 have deteriorated to a point where they 

 are no longer worth repairing. 



Surveys also indicate that 213,439 

 farm buildings in the state will receive 

 repairs soon after the war ends and 

 some materials are available. 



Nearly one-half of the farm homes 

 are more than 50 years old and it is 

 expected that a general expansion of all 

 modern conveniences is anticipated. It 

 is the belief of agricultural engineers 

 that where new farm homes are con- 

 structed, they should be designed for 

 convenience and beauty, rather than 

 copying plans for city homes. 



Aram. 1945 



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