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Work has just finished on a two-bay suckler shed on the farm of Michael McGonigle who farms just outside of Cleen in Co Roscommon. Like many suckler farmers, Michael is employed full-time off the farm, working with Teagasc, and needed facilities to allow him to combine the two effectively.
The design is not the most common seen for smaller slatted units but Michael explained that he had to balance cost and the conditions.
“I needed a shed that was closed here due to the strong swirling wind. I also wanted enough space for calving cows that I wouldn’t be under pressure. I suppose I had the option to leave it open and go three bays long but it just wouldn’t have suited the conditions.
“The way the shed is designed now I can use the two dry pens at the back to house other stock on straw down the line if I wanted to either. It gives me that bit of flexibility. There is also enough of a layback if I ever wanted to go down the organic route, which might suit a small beef farmer like myself,” according to Michael.
Finance also has to be taken into account and even more so for a young farmer only starting off and this was factored into the decision to build a two-bay shed. The layout and design of the shed has left the possibility for future expansion. The farm had been leased out for the past 15 years with Michael only taking over the running of the farm over the past few years, qualifying for the Young Farmer Scheme and the National Reserve in 2015. The development of the farm has to be staged with the shed providing the capacity to move to 15 cows.
“I suppose it hasn’t all been straightforward. I got cows and heifers in 2015 and then in 2016 the herd got infected with leptospirosis which meant that most of the cows aborted. It was a bit of a knock when starting out but I got over it and went again,” Michael said.
The shed
The shed is a total of six pens, two of which are slatted. The remaining four pens are dry and offer flexibility. The main use will be for calving pens and a creep area but with all penning in the dry area removable the option is there to fit feed barriers to the two pens at the back of the shed and use the two central creep pens as a feeding passage. The shed is 17.6m long by 9.6m wide. The slatted area is 4.8m wide with 14ft 6in slats over an 8ft deep tank.
Behind the slats is a 3.6m wide passageway that also acts as a creep area for the slatted pens. It is also fitted with a short crush.
Crush
Ideally the crush would have been longer but the Department specifications mean that there must be at least 4m from the front end of the crush to the wall to allow cows to easily exit the crush.
As work on the shed had commenced before July 2017, the shed was not subject to the new rule which states that all creep pens must be accessible without passing through another animal pen. Where possible, this must be incorporated into all designs prior to July 2017 and it must be applied to all buildings where planning permission is sought after 6 September 2017.
Running along the back wall of the shed the two pens are approximately 4.5m wide.
Pens
The internal penning in the dry pens are removable, with the centre post sitting in a sleeve. This also allows for easier cleaning out of the dry areas which can be accessed by two large sliding doors. Gates are fitted inside the doors which can be opened to improve airflow if necessary. All four dry pens are serviced with two water troughs while a slip-through gate is in place between the two calving pens. This provides a safe and quick way to move between these pens.
Dimensions
The shed is approximately 4m high at the eaves, rising to 7.5m at the apex. Inlet ventilation is provided by a combination of vented sheeting and a 300mm gap running along either end of the shed, directly below the eaves. This is required as the shed is between 15m and 24m wide and has vented sheeting also.
There is plenty of access to the shed with four large sliding doors in place. Three of these are located along one side of the shed and offer scope for future expansion.
“If I was to expand the shed in the future these three doors could be taken off and the shed expanded, with the doors reused.
“Also the only wall on this side of the shed is made up of precast concrete panels which can easily be removed in the future. It might not be done for 20 years but at least the option is there,” according to Michael.
All other walls in the shed are mass concrete.
The total cost came to about €65,000 including the VAT. Michael will be able to claim around €8,500 VAT back. This leaves approximately €56,500 suitable for grant aid. As Michael qualifies as a young farmer he is eligible for 60% grant aid through TAMS which means that he would get nearly €33,900 in grant aid, leaving his net cost at approximately €22,600. Declan Clancy Design and Planning Consultancy designed the shed and submitted the planning application.
C & F Cruff Construction carried out the vast majority of the work including the groundworks, concrete work, standing the shed and the internal fittings including barriers and gates. Brennan Fabrication Ltd supplied the shed, while Teemore Engineering supplied the barriers and fittings. The slats and panel walls were supplied by B McCaffery and Sons. Slats cost €2,300 while the panel wall only cost €300, both including VAT. Patrick Conlisk Electrical carried out the electrical work. Noel Feeney completed the TAMS application.
Concrete from Roadstone came to a total cost of €8,055 at €65/m3 including VAT, including a large concrete apron. One unexpected cost was the additional stone that was needed for the site which came to €4,800 including VAT. The shed itself cost €18,000 while the barriers and internal fittings cost €6,000. Labour came to approximately €17,000.
“It is a wet part of the farm so the amount of stone that was needed was probably four times the cost that I thought it would be,” according to Michael. Works began in June 2017, with the shed finally finished in mid-April 2018. Michael is glad to have it finally finished. “We out-wintered stock this year and I’m glad that I won’t have to be doing it next year, I’d just like to say thanks to all my family and friends who gave me advice and help during the build,” Michael said.
Watch: three-bay shed built over four-bay tank for nearly €27,000
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