Outside blocks of land on livestock farms usually require handling facilities suitable for a number of jobs. The facilities need to be capable of simplifying and creating a safe environment for tasks such as the annual cattle test, summer dosing, AI service, scanning and of course a place to gather and load cattle prior to moving stock home for the winter or selling them straight off the land.
A well-designed facility can speed up work and help to reduce the safety risks that are associated with handling livestock.
Gearoid Booth, a farmer from The Heath, Co Laois, built a cattle crush and adjoining yard for his beef heifers. He wanted facilities that made the everyday cattle handling tasks quick and easy without the need to bring in help. One year on from the build, he is very happy with the results.
Picture one
This is the cattle crush and adjoining yard, which can hold 45 heifers comfortably. Three 8ft extendable gates break up the pen into three individual holding pens, which gives great freedom when testing or handling cattle in different groups.
All steelwork was supplied by Condon Engineering. Gearoid said: “The extendable gates give me great flexibility if the yard was ever to become obsolete, as they could be used for a number of other jobs.”
These gates can be set up to have a minimum span of 10ft and be expanded to a maximum of 13ft, as well as being extremely heavy duty for dealing with larger cattle.
Picture two
All the external steelwork is heavy-duty metal and is designed in such a way to allow quick access and exit for the farmer.
Man escapes are located in a number of places around the yard, allowing greater access both in and out for use when needed. A number of extendable gates were used as outer panelling in the perimeter wall of the yard. Having multiple access points on the outside of the yard means cattle in each pen can be moved out easily without upsetting cattle drafted into other pens.Picture three
After using the facility for one year, Gearoid said the forcing gate at the rear of the crush is by far the best aspect of the yard. “The ease and safety in which the cattle enter the crush is uncanny,” he explained. A latch at the top of the forcing gate allows it to be held in a number of positions as it is swung around, constantly moving the cattle forward towards the crush. Gearoid feels a system like this to move cattle forward safely is essential in any new yard, having firsthand experience of how quickly cattle can kick back a gate.
Pictures four and five
Another well thought-out safety measure at the entrance of the crush is the sliding gate. The sliding mechanism reduces all risk of cattle kicking back at you as it can easily be locked from the side of the crush rather than directly behind, as is the case on the majority of farms.
The crush can hold seven heifers (450kg to 500kg) at a time. Gearoid opted for a semi-automatic gate at the end of the crush. He had one in the crush in the home yard previously and found that this type of gate gives great strength when dealing with strong beef animals (picture five).
There is also an elevated concrete platform on one side of the crush to make handling cattle in the crush easier.
This platform is away from the holding pens, which increases safety as Gearoid carries out his work.
Cost
Gearoid said that the project cost around €7,500, including vat, which covers all concrete, machinery work and steel. Gearoid kept costs down by erecting the steel work himself with the help of local man Joe Whelan and he had some gravel available already from a previous job. Jason Condon of Condon Engineering supplied a full breakdown of steel costs for this yard and crush (Table 1). This corresponds with the yard layout in Figure 1.
Grant spec
With comprehensive grants available under TAMS II, many farmers are looking at handling units as an investment.
Gearoid erected the crush and yard in August 2014 without any grant aid. Although the new facilities tick all the boxes for the farmer, from the Department of Agriculture’s view they wouldn’t
fall under grant specifications.
The main area in which the yard fell down is for dirty water collection.
A full concrete base for the yard would be needed as well as a collection tank for dirty water run-off to meet grant specs, which would have added a substantial cost.
Outside blocks of land on livestock farms usually require handling facilities suitable for a number of jobs. The facilities need to be capable of simplifying and creating a safe environment for tasks such as the annual cattle test, summer dosing, AI service, scanning and of course a place to gather and load cattle prior to moving stock home for the winter or selling them straight off the land.
A well-designed facility can speed up work and help to reduce the safety risks that are associated with handling livestock.
Gearoid Booth, a farmer from The Heath, Co Laois, built a cattle crush and adjoining yard for his beef heifers. He wanted facilities that made the everyday cattle handling tasks quick and easy without the need to bring in help. One year on from the build, he is very happy with the results.
Picture one
This is the cattle crush and adjoining yard, which can hold 45 heifers comfortably. Three 8ft extendable gates break up the pen into three individual holding pens, which gives great freedom when testing or handling cattle in different groups.
All steelwork was supplied by Condon Engineering. Gearoid said: “The extendable gates give me great flexibility if the yard was ever to become obsolete, as they could be used for a number of other jobs.”
These gates can be set up to have a minimum span of 10ft and be expanded to a maximum of 13ft, as well as being extremely heavy duty for dealing with larger cattle.
Picture two
All the external steelwork is heavy-duty metal and is designed in such a way to allow quick access and exit for the farmer.
Man escapes are located in a number of places around the yard, allowing greater access both in and out for use when needed. A number of extendable gates were used as outer panelling in the perimeter wall of the yard. Having multiple access points on the outside of the yard means cattle in each pen can be moved out easily without upsetting cattle drafted into other pens.Picture three
After using the facility for one year, Gearoid said the forcing gate at the rear of the crush is by far the best aspect of the yard. “The ease and safety in which the cattle enter the crush is uncanny,” he explained. A latch at the top of the forcing gate allows it to be held in a number of positions as it is swung around, constantly moving the cattle forward towards the crush. Gearoid feels a system like this to move cattle forward safely is essential in any new yard, having firsthand experience of how quickly cattle can kick back a gate.
Pictures four and five
Another well thought-out safety measure at the entrance of the crush is the sliding gate. The sliding mechanism reduces all risk of cattle kicking back at you as it can easily be locked from the side of the crush rather than directly behind, as is the case on the majority of farms.
The crush can hold seven heifers (450kg to 500kg) at a time. Gearoid opted for a semi-automatic gate at the end of the crush. He had one in the crush in the home yard previously and found that this type of gate gives great strength when dealing with strong beef animals (picture five).
There is also an elevated concrete platform on one side of the crush to make handling cattle in the crush easier.
This platform is away from the holding pens, which increases safety as Gearoid carries out his work.
Cost
Gearoid said that the project cost around €7,500, including vat, which covers all concrete, machinery work and steel. Gearoid kept costs down by erecting the steel work himself with the help of local man Joe Whelan and he had some gravel available already from a previous job. Jason Condon of Condon Engineering supplied a full breakdown of steel costs for this yard and crush (Table 1). This corresponds with the yard layout in Figure 1.
Grant spec
With comprehensive grants available under TAMS II, many farmers are looking at handling units as an investment.
Gearoid erected the crush and yard in August 2014 without any grant aid. Although the new facilities tick all the boxes for the farmer, from the Department of Agriculture’s view they wouldn’t
fall under grant specifications.
The main area in which the yard fell down is for dirty water collection.
A full concrete base for the yard would be needed as well as a collection tank for dirty water run-off to meet grant specs, which would have added a substantial cost.
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