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Building Freestall Barns and Milking Centers: Methods and Materials -- a valuable resource for anyone involved in planning a new or expanded dairy facility -- combines the latest information on all aspects of dairy construction under one cover. The 488-page book is the proceedings of a conference held in February 2003 that brought together more than thirty building and equipment suppliers, general contractors, dairy producers, builders, engineers, and university educators to share their research and experiences. Its thirty-four papers cover preconstruction considerations, building materials, contracting options, cow considerations, building construction and design, environmental control, OSHA and permitting requirements, and much more. (2003)

Latest Dairy Construction Methods and Materials Are Described in New Book

Whether you are a dairy producer considering building a new facility, or you advise producers in making decisions, a new book by the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) may become your most valuable planning resource. Building Freestall Barns and Milking Centers: Methods and Materials, NRAES-148 ($45.00 plus S&H/sales tax, 488 pages, 2003), combines the latest information on all aspects of dairy construction under one cover.

Building Freestall Barns and Milking Centers: Methods and Materials is the proceedings of a February 2003 conference held in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, that brought together more than thirty building and equipment suppliers, general contractors, dairy producers, builders, engineers, and university educators to share their research and experiences.

The proceedings includes thirty-four papers divided into eight sections: freestall barns and milking centers; preconstruction considerations, including contracting options, structural specifications, OSHA and preconstruction permitting requirements, and electricity and lighting; cow considerations, including manure removal options and cow movement, restraint, and treatment; building construction, including structural design, post foundation design, engineered lumber, trusses, rigid cladding products, insulation, flooring, and concrete; environmental control systems, including natural ventilation; milking center construction considerations, including remodeling a tiestall barn for an interim milking parlor and robotic-milking considerations; additional considerations, including water needs and strategies for minimizing stray voltage; and dairy facility construction case studies.

Building Freestall Barns and Milking Centers: Methods and Materials will be a valuable resource for anyone involved in planning new dairy construction. In addition to the producer, this book will be useful to builders, producer advisors, veterinarians, agribusiness, educators, insurance companies, banks, designers, and materials and equipment suppliers.

Members of the planning committee, whose efforts made the conference possible, were Curt A. Gooch, conference chair, PRO-DAIRY Program, Cornell University; William G. Bickert, Michigan State University; David R. Bonhoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Robert E. Graves, Penn State University; Ken Guffey, Rigidply Rafters, Inc.; Dan F. McFarland, Penn State Cooperative Extension; John Porter, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension; Ken Ramsay, Lester Building Systems; Jack Rodenburg, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food; Tim R. Royer, Timber Tech Engineering, Inc.; Phil Van Lieu, King Construction Company; and Marty Sailus, NRAES.

Conference sponsors included Albers Dairy Equipment, Inc.; Fabral; Faromor Ltd.; J&D Manufacturing, Inc.; King Construction Company; Knisely Built, Inc.; McLanahan Corporation; National Frame Builders Association; Norbco, Inc.; Rigidply Rafters, Inc.; TeamAg, Inc.; Timber Tech Engineering, Inc.; Trus Joist-A Weyerhaeuser Business; Westfalia-Surge, Inc.; Wick Buildings; and NRAES.

Building Freestall Barns and Milking Centers: Methods and Materials, NRAES-148, is available for $45.00 per copy (plus shipping and handling) from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, PO Box 4557, Ithaca, New York 14852-4557. Shipping and handling for one copy is $6.00 within the continental United States. New York residents, add sales tax (calculated on both the cost for publications and the shipping and handling charges. Click here for more information.) If ordering more than one book, or if ordering from outside the United States, contact NRAES for shipping rates and quantity discounts. Orders from outside the United States must be prepaid in U.S. funds. All major credit cards are accepted, and checks should be made payable to NRAES. For more information or a free publications catalog, contact NRAES by phone at (607) 255-7654, by fax at (607) 254-8770, or by e-mail at NRAES@CORNELL.EDU. To learn more about NRAES and browse through our entire catalog, visit our web site at www.nraes.org.

Freestall Barns and Milking Centers
Planning the Most Perfect Dairy Farm
George Mueller

Freestall Housing -- An Overview
Ken Ramsay

Milking Center Planning
Robert Engle

Freestall Shelter Design: Meeting Cow Needs
Dan F. McFarland

Preconstruction Considerations

Options for Construction Contracting
Timothy R. Royer

Structural Specifications for Dairy Facilities
David R. Bohnhoff

Steel Buildings for Dairy Facilities
Brent Whittaker

General OSHA Requirements with Specifics concerning Fall Protection and Record Keeping
Gary W. Auman

Pre-Construction Permitting Requirements
Timothy R. Royer

A Utility Company's Perspective
Richard A. Peterson

Lighting Design Considerations for Photoperiod Management in Freestall and Tiestall Dairy Barns
David Ludington, Curt A. Gooch

Cow Considerations

Considerations in Grouping Design and Implementation
William C. Stone

Moving, Restraining, and Treating Cows
Robert E. Graves

Freestall Construction and Design
Jack Rodenburg

Manure Removal and Conveyance Options
Andrew W. Wedel

Building Construction

Following Loads from the Roof to the Foundation: A Structural Design Primer for Dairy
Ken Ramsay

Post Foundation Design Considerations
David R. Bohnhoff

Engineered Lumber Products in Freestall Barns and Milking Centers
Glyn R. Boone, Kenneth J. Guffey

Installation and Bracing of Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses
Timothy W. Riegel

Rigid Cladding Products
Bill Croucher

Insulation for Freestall Barns
Scott F. Inglis and Curt A. Gooch

Flooring Considerations for Dairy Cows
Curt A. Gooch

Basic Principles to Provide Quality Concrete
Philip W. Kresge

Environmental Control Systems

Providing a Cow-Comfortable Environment
Curt A. Gooch

Natural Ventilation Construction Considerations
John T. Tyson

Curtains
Paul Garrett

Milking Center Construction Considerations

Milking Center Building Material Considerations
Stanley A. Weeks

Material Options for Milking Center Floors and Walls
Phil Van Lieu

Remodeling a Tiestall Barn for an Interim Milking Parlor
David W. Kammel

Impact of Robotic Milking on the Design of Freestall Barns
Jack Rodenburg

Additional Considerations

Water Needs and Supply Assessment
Tom McCarty

Construction Strategies for Minimizing Stray Voltage on Dairy Farms
Tom Wilson

Dairy Facility Construction: Case Studies

Milking Center and Freestall Barn Construction Project
Phil Van Lieu

Should I Be the General Contractor?
Phil Kulp

Speaker Biographies

Gary W. Auman
David R. Bohnhoff
Glyn R. Boone
Bill Croucher
Robert Engle

Paul Garrett
Curt A. Gooch
Robert E. Graves
Scott F. Inglis
David W. Kammel

Philip W. Kresge
Phil Kulp
David Ludington
Tom McCarty
Dan F. McFarland

George Mueller
Richard A. Peterson
Ken Ramsay
Timothy W. Riegel
Jack Rodenburg

Timothy R. Royer
William C. Stone
John T. Tyson
Phil Van Lieu
Andrew W. Wedel

Stanley A. Weeks
Brent Whittaker

Conference Sponsors

Albers Dairy Equipment, Inc.
Fabral
Faromor Ltd.
J&D Manufacturing, Inc.
King Construction Company

Knisely Built, Inc.
McLanahan Corporation
National Frame Builders Association
Norbco, Inc.
Rigidply Rafters, Inc.

TeamAg, Inc.
Timber Tech Engineering, Inc.
Trus Joist-A Weyerhaeuser Business
Westfalia-Surge, Inc.
Wick Buildings

Suggested Readings

Suggested Readings
Ordering Information

Conference Notes Pages

About NRAES

About NRAES
NRAES Member Universities