Daniel Keating from Grange, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, recently constructed a five-bay cubicle shed with the help of TAMS II grant aid.

“We built up numbers over time here and are currently milking 80 cows and that is as much as I will go to,” according to Daniel.

The numbers of young farmers coming in and quickly building up to big numbers is one area that worries Daniel.

“It’s difficult for young farmers now who are starting off. A lot of these farmers are going for the fancy parlours or sheds and getting into a lot of debt. I won’t lie, we were farming for the bank here for a while too, but we did everything gradually.

“You have to be proud of what you have,” according to Daniel. “This is probably the last big investment on the farm and provides me with ample accommodation for stock now.”

The farm is a two-unit labour system for a lot of the year, with local man John Walsh working in conjunction with Daniel.

The shed

The shed is five bays long, measuring 25.4m. It is 14m wide, with an additional 2.4m overhang in place along the front of the shed.

At one end of the shed, a 22m by 5m slatted tank was built with 16ft 6in slats spanning the tank, which is 2.5m or 9ft deep. Two scrapers push slurry down into the tank.

There are two agitation points on the tank, one to the rear of the shed, while the other stretches out approximately a bay in front of the shed, providing a tank of larger capacity. A line of 20 cubicles runs along the back wall of the shed, while two rows of 16 cubicles run back to back along the middle of the shed, to give a total of 52 cubicle beds. All cubicles are fitted with mats.

Planning permission for the shed was initially made in September 2015 by Aidan Kelly of Agri Design and Planning Services (ADP), with a TAMS application made in January 2016 once planning permission had been approved.

The tank was the first stage of the project and was completed in May 2016, without the help of a TAMS grant, as the farm was under pressure for slurry storage. This had a knock-on effect as the tank then had to receive architect approval for a grant-aided shed to be constructed over it.

TAMS approval for the shed was finally received in September 2016, with the project completed in December 2016. The shed has now been used for two winters and Daniel is extremely happy with it.

“What I wanted when we built this shed was a good simple design that would work well for the farm.”

The design of the yard is very conducive to ease of management, with ample space left around all buildings, which makes it easier for manoeuvring around the yard for Daniel, contractors and the milk collection trucks.

Cubicles

The cubicles along the back wall of the shed are 2.4m long, while the two lines of cubicles along the middle are both nearly 2.3m long. Cubicles are approximately 1.2m wide.

The passage along the back of the shed is 2.7m wide, while the front passage along the feeding barriers is 3.5m wide.

Two crossover points are in place at either end of the shed, which is the minimum amount of routes to the feed passage required under TAMS. Each of these crossover points are fitted with large tip-over drinkers.

Inlet ventilation is provided through a combination of vented sheeting and an unobstructed opening running along the entire length of the back of the shed.

Outlet ventilation is provided through the full length of the apex of the shed, with a ridge cap in place above this opening. The shed stands at 7.5m at its apex, while it is 5.2m to the eaves. All roof lights in the shed are fitted with safety bars.

Costs

The total cost of the project came to €121,606 including VAT. The cost of the slurry tank, slats and associated yard repairs came to €21,010 including VAT, none of which was eligible for grant aid as it was completed before the TAMS approval was granted.

Digging out the tanks and backfilling, including all other groundwork for the project, came to a cost of €4,800 including VAT and was completed by Edmund and Mattie McGrath.

Fenton Construction completed the rest of the project including all concrete work and erecting the shed, which was supplied by Gleeson Steel. The shed came to a cost of €20,000 including VAT, while the internal concrete, cubicles, water troughs, feed barriers and gates came to a cost of €32,750 including VAT, with the labour required costing an additional €15,000 including VAT.

The architect to approve the tank cost €980 including VAT. Glen O’Halloran Electrics completed all electrical work, which cost €3,500 including VAT. Mats and scrapers cost €12,300 including VAT. Grant aid cannot be sought on mats or the architect fees, but grant aid was approved for the scrapers.

VAT on agricultural buildings is 13.5%, which Daniel claimed back. Grant aid of €23,860 was received for the project bring the cost to approximately €97,000 including VAT.