With fragmentation a major issue for many farms, particularly in the west of the country, there are few farms that wouldn’t benefit from installing a simple handling unit for an outside block.

That is exactly what Ted O’Shea from outside Kenmare in Co Kerry has done. He recently installed a handling unit for his suckler herd on an outside block located several miles from the main farm.

“It can be difficult when you have fragmented land, especially when you are on your own. Help can be scarce and it means that you put off jobs that need to be done until the weekend,” Ted said.

“With the pen I can load cattle, take a few cows out or add a few in very easily, it just gives you more control with stock.

“It really means that you aren’t delaying jobs. It’s very easy now to change cattle after work or to bring cattle in and dose them if needs be.”

The unit itself was fabricated and supplied by O’Donovan Engineering and is 10.6m long and approximately 6m wide. The pen beside the crush is 3.65m wide (12ft) while the pen to the back of the race widens out. This was done so that there is a 3.65m wide gate at the end of the handling unit but there is also a smaller 2m (6ft6in) gate beside this. This gate is the width of Ted’s cattle trailer and means that the back door can be dropped down and there is no need for other gates either side of the trailer.

The race itself is approximately 7m long and can accommodate three cows.

A small 2m gate is used for loading cattle.

“I wanted the unit to be as safe as possible when it came to loading cattle. There is no way that cows or calves could break away if we were trying to load them,” Ted said.

Keeping the race out from the adjoining dry stone wall also ensures there is a safe area that cattle in the race can be managed from.

“It is not just a handling unit but it will also work as a creep area for calves to feed meal and to have access to after-grass ahead of the cows,” Ted said.

Creep gates are in place at either end of the unit.

TAMS specifications

While Ted did not go through the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) when he put up this unit, farmers are eligible for grant aid to install such units.

Three cows can fit in the race.

There are specifications that farmers should be conscious of for such a unit. Most farmers call the long narrow part where animals stand head to tail the crush. Under Department specifications, the race and crush are defined as two separate pieces of the handling unit as seen in Figure 1.

The crush is the section to the very front of the unit where an animal would be standing if they were restrained in a skulling gate. The race is the area behind this.

The minimum length of the crush is 1.4m and race must be a minimum of 3.4m, this would give total length of 4.8m if fitted with a skulling gate, this increases to 5.2m with a plain gate at the front of the crush. It is recommended that the race has a minimum length of 5.4m while a 9m race will hold between five and six animals. Long races that can hold 12 or more cattle are not recommended.

The width of the race will generally vary from 650mm to 700mm.

It is recommended that a sliding or hinged backing gate is installed to the rear of the crush (in front of the race). If not, then a tailbar or rump bar of must be fitted at the rear of the crush, not more than 1.8m from the crush gate/skulling gate.

For safety reasons, a removable panel/gate must be installed at the side of the crush. This will allow the release of any animal that may have fallen or for veterinary access to the animal.

When it comes to the race, the middle rails must have suitable notches to hold the retaining bar or if a wall forms one side it must have suitable sockets. The only other option is to have an anti-back bar/system which can be secured at a range of distances along the race.

All rails or sections in the race must be fitted with a quick-release mechanism so that they can be removed safely. It is strongly recommended to have a 1.2m wide area either side of a crush and race to provide a safe working area.

Floor

The floor of the crush and the race and an area outside of it extending to 600mm must be a concrete slab of 125mm thick over 150mm hardcore base. Concrete used must be a minimum strength of 37N. Non-slip or diagonal grooves at 100mm intervals must be in place to prevent animals slipping. The floor of the enclosure must also be a concrete base of 125mm.

Drainage channels are not mandatory for handling units where the enclosure and race are cleaned following each use. If it is not cleaned after each use then 75mm by 75mm drainage channels are required with a tank in place to hold effluent from one day’s use of the unit.

For safety reasons, at least one slip-through point must be provided in all holding pens. It should be no larger than 325mm wide. This prevents farmers having to climb over gates. In addition to this, it is recommended to install a narrow 600mm wide, self-closing gate in each holding pen to provide personal access to the pen.

Costs

A young farmer will be eligible for grant aid of 60% on such a development while a general applicant will only be eligible for 40% if the development is put up through TAMS. The reference costs for such a development will vary depending on what exactly is within the unit with the figures in Table 1 used to calculate the reference cost.

If the unit outlined above was to be done to TAMS specification the reference costs would work out at approximately €6,500 excluding VAT. The penning for such a unit being installed through TAMS could cost approximately €4,500 excluding VAT according to O’Donovan Engineering.