Top-class finish to Kilkenny cubicle shed

Tom Phelan is farming right along the tip of Co Kilkenny outside the village of Galmoy. Just 100 yards across the ditch is Laois, while the windmills a mile or two down the road lie in Tipperary.

Milking 110 high EBI black and white spring calving cows, Tom faced a similar situation to many regarding slurry storage and cubicle accommodation; a lack of storage and cows in several older cubicle sheds led to sub-optimal use of slurry in spring and increased labour with sorting cows amid tight spacing.

‘’In a tough spring [weather-wise] we would have half the cows out by day and the other half housed, simply because we were tight on space indoors. It was a headache and it was like we were trying to manage two herds.’’

There was some reprieve when an out block with slurry storage was taken, though cubicle spacing did remain tights.

However, the additional slurry storage did allow for Tom to again become compliant with storage rules, which allowed him to apply for TAMS aid for the tank.

Planning for the shed was granted in 2023, though the site was only cleared in June of this year with construction beginning shortly after.

Taking on the out block with storage pushed the project out, with the end result being that TAMS aid was received for the tanks and hydraulic scrapers but not the shed, as Tom did not want to push the project further down the road.

Site clearance took eight days with two diggers due to a hill on site and “hard digging”, which extended 8ft above the shed floor level, while 10ft had to be dug down after for the 9ft deep tanks.

The entire project was expertly designed by Aidan Kelly of ADPS, Clonmel, who had previously designed the Phelan’s milking parlour.

Each tank measures 28m (91ft 10in) in length and is overlaid with a 14ft 6in slat with an internal depth of 9ft (2.7m) giving a total usable capacity (excluding buffer of 200mm) of 584m3, or sufficient capacity for 98 cows for 18 weeks or 88 cows for 20 weeks.

Agitation points are located at either end of each of the tanks, giving a total of four, with all agitation points being external.

The shed is designed perfectly with respect to the prevailing wind. The gable end furthest from the parlour is southwesterly facing.

This means that feed enclosed underneath the two external canopies that extend out 2.4m from the shed is adequately protected, while for the majority of the time, the gable end located closest to the parlour where there is feed space is protected.

With 88 cubicles in the shed and space for 112 to eat along the two longest sides (600mm space per cow), this gable end feed space will only be used during the summer months, but it will allow Tom to buffer feed all cows within one shed. Installing a canopy on this gable end was considered, but with it only being used for buffer feeding and costs similar to extending the shed on an additional bay, it was seen as unnecessary with money better channelled in to the rest of the shed.

The concrete feed apron extends out to 4.9m (16ft2’’) which makes the area easily cleaned.

The shed was initially designed around robotic slurry scrapers, but one major issue put a stop to these; the VAT changes.

Being unable to reclaim the VAT on the robotic scrapers swayed Tom back to hydraulic scrapers, for which he was able to reclaim his VAT and receive TAMS.

Designing the shed around a robotic scraper was one of the reasons the tanks were located at either end of the shed instead of a double tank at one end.

Alfco hydraulic scrapers were installed along the two feed passages (measuring 4.492m in width) and in the central passage (measuring 3m in width) between the two banks of cubicles, with all controls located on the external wall out of harms way.

The beauty of having the tank at either end is that there are no dirty areas at crossovers, while the hydraulic scrapers can scrape in both directions.

At the upper end of the shed, three cubicle spaces have been excluded and a stainless-steel tip over water trough installed on the cubicle end wall along both banks of cubicles, while the tank at the bottom end of the shed is free of cubicles, leaving ample room for cows to move throughout even when others are eating.

Again, stainless steel troughs are fitted at both cubicle bank ends, giving a total of four within the shed.

Tom also has the option to split the shed into three with cubicle dividers should the need arise, and the four troughs ensure each area will have a minimum of one drinking trough.

Even though the shed is non-TAMS aided, Tom hasn’t skimped on using quality products. Euronit 0.6mm sheeting is fitted in the roof, with safety cages fitted under the skylights for a planned solar investment.

All the structural steel is hot-dipped galvanised for longevity, but perhaps the most impressive spending that Tom done is on the cubicle mattresses, a rarity for a spring calving herd.

‘’It was a simple choice really. A friend of mine had half his shed done with ordinary mats while the other half was done with mattresses. The mattresses had full occupancy while there was empty cubicle spaces in the ones fitted with mats’’ explained Tom.

‘’I was long enough planning the shed; I didn’t want to scrimp on quality when it came to the finish’’.

After shopping around, Tom ultimately opted for Wilson Agri, Coleraine for the mattresses, cubicles, gates, barriers and drinkers.

‘’Wilson Agri recommended that they install the mattress themselves, so my main contractor here Micheál Bergin poured the bases and they came and fitted them then.’’

A 70mm duo foam mattress complete with brisket boards were fitted, with each cubicle measuring 2.1m in length.

Three weeks prior to The Farmers Journal visit, the only thing that was in place was the two tanks fitted with slats. ‘’Micheál Bergin (Bergin Buildings, Lisdowney) was out main contractor here and along with the two lads with them, they just never stopped but there was no running and racing or half doing the job; the finish is top class and I couldn’t praise them enough’’ said Tom.

Pat Spencer Plant hire Cullohill and TMB Plant Hire, Two Mile Borris, were responsible for the site excavation and clearance, while the Alfco scrapers were fitted by Brett Dairy Service, Upperchurch.

The shed was sourced from Oldtown Engineering, Cullohill with all electrical work completed by Jerry Fogarty Electrical, Galmoy. Fill was sourced from Dowling Quarries, Errill, and Maher Quarries, Moyne, with concrete supplied by Kilkenny Block.

Pricing for the shed is as follows with all prices excluding VAT:

While the figure seems like a large amount of money, the shed – with its spec – actually represents really good value.

At 88 cubicle space/slurry storage, it equates to €2,943/cow for what is essentially a TAMS-spec shed. If Tom opted to forgo mattresses and dipping the shed, it would probably be close to €2,750 TAMS aid for the tanks and scrapers will roughly put €30,000 back in Tom’s pocket, bringing the cost per cow down to €2,602.