Building for the Future January 2016

BUILDINGFUTUREFOR THE

Building & ConstruCtion speCial seCtion

January 27, 2016

January 27, 2016/The Country Today • Building for the Future

The future is bright

Photo by Heidi Clausen

Inverters are mounted on the side of barn at Crystal BallFarms. The roofs of the barn, a granary and on-farmcreamery are covered with energy-producing solarpanels.

DeRosier

By Heidi ClausenRegional Editor | [email protected]

OSCEOLA — Dairyfarmer Troy DeRosier alreadyis basking in some of the ben-ets from the 560 solar panelshe installed on roofs of threebuildings last fall.

“It isolates me from energy

costs going up,” he said.But the real payoff will

come in about ve years,when the 151-kilowatt pho-tovoltaic system will bepaid for and DeRosier willeliminate his monthly elec-tric bill.

“My (loan) payment everymonth is the same as what I

was payingfor electric-ity,” he said.

DeRosier,who ownsCrystal BallFarms southof Osceola,said he andhis wife,Barb, con-

sidered going solar for severalyears.

“Our biggest problem is,because of our consumptionof electricity … nothing madesense,” he said.

Finally, last year, with in-centive programs, “the num-bers just worked,” he said. “Itcash-ows, so why not?”

Solar also ts with the sus-tainable farming values be-hind their 100-cow organicdairy. For 13 years, CrystalBall Farms has processedmost its own milk right on thefarm, bottling it for delivery tohomes, grocery stores and cof-fee shops throughout north-west Wisconsin and the TwinCities area, and for sale in

their on-farm store.Through United Natural

Foods in Prescott, Crystal Ballproducts also appear in storesas distant as Madison, Mil-waukee and Chicago.

The farm’s monthly elec-tricity bill has run about$2,500 a month, higher in thesummer because of the storecoolers, DeRosier said. Thesolar array will generate all the

electricity needed for theirdairy and creamery, about$30,000 worth of power peryear.

Rows of solar panels coveralmost every inch of south-facing roofs on a free-stallbarn and hospital pen area thatare connected, a granary andtheir creamery. From a moni-tor in the store, they and theircustomers can view, in real

time, the output from each ofnine solar inverters mountedon side of the barn.

Incentives to switch to solarhave been better than ever,DeRosier said. To help payfor his $312,000 system, hetook advantage of a Focus onEnergy grant through his util-ity, Xcel Energy. That paid forabout 30 percent.

His “out-of-pocket” costwas a little more than$200,000, he said, but he wasalso able to lock in a 30 per-cent federal tax credit that canbe claimed over several years.He can offset additional tax li-ability through the ve-yearaccelerated depreciation of thesystems allowed for busi-nesses, covering another 24percent of the cost.

In the end, he will pay abouta quarter of the total bill.

“We pushed to get it donelast year because they weren’tsure some of these programswould be available the nextyear,” he said, but the incen-tives remain attractive for2016.

With solar set to eliminate his electric bill in ve years, Wisconsin dairy farmer says …

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Building for the Future • The Country Today/January 27, 2016

Energy produced by thepanels differs throughoutthe year, with overproduc-tion in the summer and un-derproduction in the win-ter. Because the panelsdidn’t go up until late lastfall, DeRosier said he hasyet to enjoy the nancialbenets of overproduction.

He said Xcel has beengood to work with becausethey do net metering, rec-onciling the productionnumbers at the end of theyear. They pay him whole-sale value of 3 cents perkilowatt-hour.

“The meter goes forwardand backward, and we mayowe or get credit,” he said.“Most companies want todo it monthly.”

Panel placement matters.DeRosier said panels onnorth-facing roofs wouldproduce about 15 percentless than those on thesouth. Panels on the gra-nary roof, which is steeper,produce about 20 percentmore than the others be-cause of a better angle tothe sun.

He plans to add morepanels this year to produceenergy for his house.

Maintenance is minimal;DeRosier uses a long-han-dled tool to brush off snow.Panels are designed to last55 years, with a 30-yearperformance warranty.They also should withstandwinds up to 120 mph andhail as large as three-quarters of an inch.

“It will take any hailwe’ve had here the last 75-80 years,” DeRosier said.

DeRosier, who hopes tohost an open house on thefarm this summer, saiddairy producers “can reallybenet” from solar.

Sun makes senseIt just makes good sense

for farmers, whose liveli-hoods already depend onthe sun, to catch even morerays, agrees Foley Quinn ofNext Energy Solution, whoinstalled DeRosier’s sys-tem.

At the mercy of uctuat-ing milk prices and costs

such as feed, solar offersfarmers energy indepen-dence and stability, turningelectricity into more of axed cost.

“I see a bright future inthe dairy industry. It offersthem stability and controlstheir costs,” Quinn said.“We’re seeing quite a bit ofinterest.”

Next Energy Solution in-stalled about 100 solar en-ergy systems in four statesthis past year — up fromabout 70 in 2014. TheCrystal Ball Farms projectwas their rst installationon a dairy farm, but theyexpect to do about 15 moredairy projects in Wisconsinthis year.

Solar can work on anysize farm because it’s scal-able, Quinn said, adding,“The larger the system, thelower the cost per watt.”

Most farms already havelarge buildings with plentyof open roof space to serveas built-in structure for so-lar panels.

“That’s prime real estate.What better way to utilize

it than put something on itthat’s generating dollars?”he said.

Based in Spooner, NextEnergy Solution employs afull-time grant writer tohelp clients securing fund-ing. They also perform pre-liminary analyses.

“This is a big investment,and we want to make sureit’s right,” Quinn said.

Before going solar, farm-ers should consider howtheir farm is set up for it,including the availability ofsouth-facing roofs and theage of shingled roofs,which should have at least

half of its life expectancyremaining.

“Panels do protect theroof,” he said. “They willextend the life of the shin-gle.”

Farmers also should lookinto whether their utilityparticipates in the Focus onEnergy grant program andother incentives.

Seeing the lightNext Energy Solution

also is helping DeRosiermake other changes, in-cluding the switch to LEDlighting in the milkhouseand calf barn and putting

lights on timers to save en-ergy.

“It was more than sellinghim a product; it’s more ofa solution, the payback andwhat we could do to im-prove efciency on theirfarm,” Quinn said. “Whenwe did our estimates, wewere looking at solar cov-ering 90 percent of hisbill.”

He said they “cut out themiddleman” by importingpanels directly from Italy.

Always looking for newways to improve his opera-tion, DeRosier said hehopes to start capturingmethane from manure pitsto heat milk for pasteuriza-tion and bottle-washing inthe creamery. His six 15-foot-deep pits under thebarn would need to besealed and pressurized.

But with lower naturalgas prices recently,DeRosier said, this projecthasn’t been a high priority.

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Submitted photo

A Cleary Building Corp. crew made quick work of construction of a building. Mostbuildings are built from scratch within a matter of a few days.

By Jim MasseyEditor | [email protected]

VERONA — WhenTom Cleary founded the

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Michael Wuennemann,Cleary’s director of mar-keting, said he has seen thecompany double in sizesince he joined the rm 20years ago.

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Building employees whenthe company hit a mile-stone late last year, sellingits 100,000th building inNovember. The round-roofed building was sold toa client in the Madison areawho opted to remainanonymous.

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Submitted photo

All Cleary buildings have the familiar shamrock logoapplied under the roof’s peak.

Cleary is somewhatdifferent than otherpost-frame constructioncompanies in that every-one who is involved inthe sale, design and con-struction of one of itsbuildings is employedby the company. Somecompanies contract withbuilding crews to erecttheir buildings, butCleary has a nationwidestaff of 800. About 100of those work in theVerona corporate ofce.

Cleary builds all typesof post-frame buildings,from agricultural struc-tures to machine sheds,horse barns and arenas,dairy barns, storagebuildings, workshops,garages, commercialbuildings and town halls.Some people put theirresidence in one half of abuilding and their ani-mals in the other half,Wuennemann said.

“We’re denitely driventoward the suburban mar-ket, but we’re in lots ofother markets, too,”Wuennemann said. Thecompany builds 44 differ-ent buildings, with 22 steelcolors to choose from.

Wuennemann said alot of what Cleary buildsare “toy box buildings,”or buildings to coverpeople’s toys, from clas-sic cars to boats, ATVs,snowmobiles or an in-side basketball or tenniscourt.

“A lot of people havea lot of toys these days,and we love that,”Wuennemann said.

In the three manufac-turing facilities, Clearymanufactures the col-umns and trusses for itswood-frame buildings.The company workswith Fabral, a rm thathas strategic locationsacross the country, as asupplier for its steel.

Cleary has becomeknown for its catchy jin-gle on television and ra-dio commercials, withthe phrase, ‘“Built withpride, before the sham-rock’s applied.” Thatphrase goes back to theIrish heritage of thecompany’s owners, Tomand Sean Cleary.

“Tom and Sean alwaysused to say ‘built withpride before the name’sapplied,’ and then itkind of hit home withthe shamrock,” Wuenne-

mann said. “Now wehave what we call ashamrock service guar-

antee. Our sales special-ists contact clients dur-ing the progression ofthe building, and we callthem one month andthree months after it isnished to make surethey are happy with it.That customer servicehas been driven homesince Tom and Seanstarted the company.”

Cleary added its mostrecent branch ofces, inO’Neill and Arapahoe,Neb., at the beginning of2016. Wuennemann saidthe next logical step forthe company will be the

construction of anothermanufacturing facilityin the eastern U.S.

Wuennemann said 30years ago, Cleary wasbuilding mostly machinesheds and agriculturalbuilding with slidingdoors. Much has changedin terms of the company’scapabilities, he said.

“We’ve been a custombuilder as long as we’vebeen in business, butnow we use a softwareprogram called‘DreamMaker,’ wherewe sit down at the tablewith our customers and

we can design a buildingin 3-D, price it, and givedesign guidelines as wego,” he said. “Our 30 en-gineers take it from therewith the nal design.”

Wuenneman said thecompany’s owners areproud to promote thefact that the companyhas been debt-free since1985, which puts it in astronger position to try avariety of innovations.

“We’ve maintainedthat position eventhrough tough times, andwe continue to go upfrom there,” he said.

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Old barns become new for Waupaca retiree

Photo by Sara Bredesen

Dr. Arthur Elman combined parts of ve post-and-beambarns to rebuild one structure on his rural property nearWaupaca. Another new round barn nearby holds severalpieces of vintage machinery, but the Case thresher willremain outside, as will the Ozark windmill shown in thedistance.

By Sara BredesenRegional Editor | [email protected]

WAUPACA — ArthurElman, a semi-retired oncolo-gist from Kansas City, de-scribes himself as severalgenerations removed fromfarming, but an interest in old

farm machinery and build-ings has led him to a new un-derstanding of agriculture ona former 120-acre hog farmin Waupaca County.

Elman and his wife,Carolyn, bought the property25 years ago with a refur-bished 1870s farmhouse and

a long stretch of access forcanoeing on the WaupacaRiver. The original barn nearthe river had long beforesuccumbed to ooding andage, and much of the sandypastureland and woods werebeing taken over by inva-sives and scrub trees.

Over the years, the El-mans worked at improvingthe property. With the helpof the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, they re-planted a fallow meadowinto native prairie to attractKarner blue butteries andremoved unproductive treesin adjacent woodland to cre-ate a white oak savannah at-tractive to other wildlife.

The idea of returning abarn to the property was in-spired by the purchase of a1948 Model A John DeereTractor. It wouldn’t t intothe garage, Elman said, sohe gured he would need tobuild a barn. After a lot ofresearch, he settled on apost and beam style barnthat would give him theclearance he needed.

“We took down vebarns from over severalyears in the county hereand carefully brought themall back and salvaged thegood beams and good barn

siding,” Elman said.A builder from nearby

King put the barn up in anew location farther from

the river. One of the donorbarns was from 1897, thedate that shows on the newconstruction’s cupola.

796779_1-27-16

797157 • 1-27-16


“That got the tractor into thebarn,” Elman said,” but inreading about barns, I becamefascinated with the idea of around barn, which was histori-cally a movement about 1900.It had to do with the idea thatarchitects thought that naturewasn’t made in squares andrectangles but more existed inthings that were rounded.Round barns I think, function-ally, were never a great idea,but they looked nice.”

As part of the land im-provement, Elman hadcleared out an eight-acrepatch of locust near the re-built barn. It made a perfectspot for the next buildingproject. He hired an architectto devise a plan that wouldmimic the exterior look of atraditional round barn, but theinterior would be left open.

“Some things I could see inwanting to do an accurate re-production, but this was justthat I liked the feeling of around barn, and I wasn’tplanning to have livestock,”he said.

Most of the constructionwas nished this past fall, butthe siding that is going to goon the new round barn will befrom pine trees that were cutoff the land and have beendrying for several years in theother barn.

The round barn now housesa growing collection of equip-ment Elman has refurbished;the John Deere Model A, avintage Oliver 55 tractor and a1940 International pickuptruck that a farmer in nearbyAlmond had used to deliverpotatoes to market.

A work in progress is acentury-old Ozark windmillthat Elman hopes to completethis summer beside the post-and-beam barn.

“I have no plan that thiswill become a working farm,but in the process of doingthese things, you learn a littlebit about timbering, and a lit-tle bit about prairies, and a lit-tle bit about the issues thatthese people had in the past inhaving water and buildingtheir barns and things,” hesaid. “I just keep ndingthese projects here at thisplace, which I nd a chal-lenge.”

Website helps with facility improvementsBy Jim Massey

Editor | [email protected]

MONROE — Farmersnow have access to a freewebsite through the UW-Madison School of Veteri-nary Medicine that shouldhelp them increase cow com-fort and milk productionwhen building new or remod-eling existing dairy facilities.

Through a program calledthe Dairyland Initiative, farm-ers, dairy nutritionists, Exten-sion educators, industry con-sultants, lending professionalsand others can access thewebsite that has been put to-gether by experts in all as-pects of the dairy industry.The website features blue-prints for cow housing facili-ties; virtual tours of all typesof calf, heifer, cow, transitionand robotic milking facilities;calculators to help farmersgure out how much roomthey need when expanding orbuilding new facilities; and anextensive list of certied pro-fessionals and services.

“The best thing about thistool is it’s all compiled in oneplace,” Green County Agri-culture Agent Mark Mayer

said. “And one of the goodthings about this website isit’s free.”

Mayer said farmers whomight be considering modern-izing their facilities can tour avariety of farms without hav-ing to leave their homes. Thevirtual tours answer questionsabout different types of opera-tions and often provide bird’seye video from different van-tage points in the facilities.

The website provides infor-mation on options for oor-ing, lighting, ventilation, roofinsulation, water needs, free-stall dimensions and a pen-size calculator.

With some examples, milkproduction is charted before,during and after a facility-im-

provement project.“Our (Green County) dairy

modernization tour is alwayspopular — farmers like tolearn from other farmers,”Mayer said. “They have thesame opportunity to do thatwith this website. There areinterviews with producersabout why they did what theydid and whether they woulddo something different. Thewebsite pretty much coverseverything when it comes todairy housing.”

The Dairyland Initiativewebsite currently has 3,629active users, including 3,629dairy farmers; 1,078 veteri-narians and veterinary stu-dents; 550 consultants andsupporters; 286 Extension ed-

ucators; 200 construction pro-fessionals and more.

The website was designedunder the guidance of Dr.Nigel Cook and Dr. KenNordlund of the Food AnimalProduction Medicine sectionat the UW-Madison School

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Raising the roofBy Heidi Clausen

Regional Editor | [email protected]

Off its foundation on oneside and seemingly ready tocave in at any moment, theold barn at Bill Warner’splace along U.S. Highway63 just south of Clear Lakeappeared beyond salvation.

“I didn’t really want totear it down. ... I just gured,at that point, we were goingto have to tear it down,” saidWarner, whose dad ownedthe farm before him.

One person who recog-nized its potential was FredKelling, owner of KellingBarn Roong and Straight-ening in Braham, Minn.

Warner had begun gettingquotes from excavatorswhen Kelling drove past thedeteriorated barn one day

and left a business card.Seeing that the cost to x itwould be about the same asthat to demolish it, Warner,still doubtful it could bexed, gave him a call.

It took Kelling a week ortwo to get the barn, whichwas full of broken bales,straightened before it wasre-roofed and painted.

“I did it for the chal-lenge,” he said. “Nobodybelieved it could be done.”

People were so im-pressed with the result thathe has gotten other jobs be-

cause of it and, Warnersaid, became a “localcelebrity.”

Kelling, 68, got his startin construction in 1965,working with silos for Wes-man. In 1972, he struck outon his own, building silos,repairing barns, installing

metal roong and doingother farm jobs.

About that same time, hehad purchased, “cheap,” aplace known for its leaningbarn. It took about 15years, but he straightenedthe barn, and it’s still stand-ing.

Minnesota company breathes newlife into sagging, old farm buildings

Submitted photo

The Warner barn just south of Clear Lake is shownbefore it was repaired by Kelling Barn Roong andStraightening.

For more information aboutKelling Barn Roong andStraightening, call 800-

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Bunker Tee PanelSmooth Both Sides

Reinforced 5000 PSI Concrete

Delivered & Erected on your Site

CrestBunker Construction

795616 • 1-27-16

Heights5'-2"8'-6"

10'-6"12'-0"14'-0"16'-0"

6000

AL HOFFMANNOwner

E9157 Blueberry RdNew London, WI 54961

Offi ce: (715) 752-4623Cell: (715) 460-0388

Email: [email protected]

AL-BE CURTAINS LLCWe like hangin’ around your place

796990 • 1-27-16

• Commodity Sheds

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KSI Inc.800-472-6422

[email protected] Monroe Street

Sheboygan Falls, WI

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BUNKER SILOS • Tapered Concrete Walls - Poured In Place - • Barn Remodeling

W4271 County Trunk W, Waldo, WI 53093920-564-2578

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797158 • 1-27-16


Submitted photo

The Warner barn is pictured after Kelling Barn Roongand Straightening did its repair work.

“I’ve always liked doingthe barn stuff,” he said.“I’m still learning.”

As silo work has dimin-ished over the years, he hasbeen able to focus more onbarn projects in Minnesotaand Wisconsin, which keephim busy year-round, evenin the dead of winter.Working atop a barn inJanuary can be tricky.

“It’s the wind; tempera-ture doesn’t make muchdifference,” he said.

Kelling’s son, Jon, regu-larly works with him, andextra employees are hiredon for roong jobs. With afocus on craftsmanshipand honesty, the companyhas continued to growthrough word-of-mouthreferences and repeat cus-tomers.

“I enjoy what we do andtake great pride in ourwork,” Kelling said. “I lovethe rural clientele.”

Kelling said he and hiscrew roof 30 to 50 barnseach year and straightenabout a half-dozen. Morethan half of last year’sbusiness came from repeatcustomers and referrals.

His crew currently isstraightening a barn nearCarver, Minn., that wascrooked when it was re-roofed. They’re alsoputting on side steel.

Straightening an unstablebarn requires a delicatecombination of lifting andcable work, he said,adding, “Each one is

slightly different. The moreyou jack them up, the moreweight you get off themand the easier it is.”

Warner’s barn called for27 jacks on one side andsix to eight on the other,Kelling said. Most of thework was done from insidethe structure.

“I’m glad we did it,” saidWarner, adding that theconcrete was still in goodcondition so it was worththe effort.

Looks can be deceiving,he said. Some barns thatdon’t look too bad need themost work. After a barn isstraightened, it’s oftenbraced for added support.

“We try to brace it sothere’s still a lot of useablespace up there,” Kellingsaid.

Barn straightening typi-cally costs between $6,000and $15,000, he said. Acommon fee is $10,000 to

$12,000. Most jobs lastabout a week, but somecould be done in a fewdays if the barn is empty ofhay, he said.

“I haven’t seen a barn Ican’t straighten,” he said.“If they’re standing at all,it’s just a matter sometimesof the material.”

A couple of decades ago,during the height of interestin barn restoration, therewere a lot of barn straight-eners around, Kelling said.

Fifteen years ago, he re-stored about twice as manybarns as he does now.

“Not many people areadvertising that now,” hesaid. “I don’t think I’veever been out of work.”

While barn restorationused to be more about shel-tering dairy herds, he said,it’s become more abouthorses, storage space andretaining a piece of history.

“There’s something aboutbarns,” he said. “It was thecenter of the place.”

The roof of a barn is crit-ical to its useful life span,he said. With an intact top,barns can last a long time.They deteriorate quicklyunder a leaky roof. Barnroofs also don’t dry out likethey should if there areoverhanging trees, and theroots can interfere with thebuilding’s footing.

Kelling said he mostlydoes metal roong and verylittle shingling. Metal roofsbetter protect structuresfrom wear and tear and canlook new for many years.

“We just feel that steel isso much more benecial,”he said. “It adds strength,and you don’t have toworry about when youhave to (roof) it again.”

Before a contractor ar-rives to work on their barn,owners should try to re-move all the old hay andclear away machinery and

nearby trees, he said.Despite being slowed

down this winter by backsurgery, Kelling intends tocontinue giving agingbarns across the UpperMidwest the TLC they de-serve.

“I don’t plan on retiring,”he said. “It’s kind of a so-cial life for me, too.”

DESIGN BUILT STRUCTURES

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g


Veterinarian: Build biosecurity into farm layoutBy Karyn Eckert

Regional Editor | [email protected]

Cow comfort, ease offeeding and conveniencefor operators may all bekey considerations whenplanning the layout of a

dairy farm. Anothershould be biosecurity.

“It's an important topic,but it's also a topic whereif we're not having prob-lems with animal health,it gets ignored,” said Dr.David Wolfgang, an Ex-

tension veterinarian forPenn State University.

Biosecurity is manage-ment practices to mini-mize movement of infec-tious diseases and in-cludes planning themovement of animals,

feed and manure on andoff the farm. Pathogenscan enter the farm via do-mestic or wild animal,people, equipment orfeed.

Dairy farms have beenfortunate to avoid a majordisease outbreak from aforeign source in recentyears. Wolfgang pointedto avian inuenza andPorcine Epidemic Diar-rhea virus as examples ofhow devastating thesediseases can be.

“Most of our swine fa-cilities have much higherlevels of biosecurity thanthe average dairy farm,”Wolfgang said. “Eventhough we have not had amajor foreign diseaseoutbreak in our dairy cat-tle recently doesn't meanit couldn't happen. Wehave to be on guard.”

When developing abiosecurity plan, Wolf-gang said to considerpaths for disease entry,identify high-risk prac-tices, test and quarantineanimals and create clearlines of separation inhigh-risk areas. Animalareas more susceptible todisease include newbornsand the nursery, mater-nity pen and weaning-agecalves, while lower-riskareas include growing

heifers, aged breedingstock and cull animals.

Dairy cattle have manyroutes to infection. Wolf-gang said saliva is a bigchallenge in cows withshared bunk spaces. Milk,manure, mucus dis-charges, skin, blood andrespiratory droplets canalso carry pathogens.There are many disinfec-tants to use on a dairyfarm, but Wolfgang saidthe most important step isremoving as much or-ganic material as possi-ble. This material cancarry parasite eggs andcysts that are tough to killwith disinfectants.

Foot baths are oftenused for visitors andworkers to disinfectboots, but Wolfgang cau-tions it takes 15 secondsof contact time to disin-fect clean boots and atleast two minutes fordirty boots. Pathogenscan still be transferred ondirty clothes.

“Foot baths tend togive people a false senseof security,” Wolfgangsaid.

Planning forbiosecurity

Farm layout oftenevolves out of conve-nience rather than plan-

ning, said John Tyson,agricultural engineer andExtension educator atPenn State. Barns conve-nient for caring for andmoving cattle could alsopromote disease transfer.

“You can either helpor hinder your biosecu-rity with good or badlayout on the farm,” hesaid. “It's something wehave to think about andplan.”

Tyson recommendsplanning buildings so dis-ease-susceptible animals— such as those in thematernity pen and nurs-ery — are on the edges,where the air is cleanerand they have less expo-sure to manure. With to-day's mixing equipment,Tyson encourages farmsto move feed storage andmixing away from animalbuildings. Along with re-ducing the risk of feedcontamination, he said italso keeps delivery trucksaway from animals.

Tyson makes the samerecommendation for ma-nure systems. Keepingmanure storage awayfrom buildings and al-lowing more space be-tween buildings allowsfor better ventilationand lower risk of dis-ease.

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Tyson makes the samerecommendation for manuresystems. Keeping manurestorage away from buildingsand allowing more space be-tween buildings allows forbetter ventilation and lowerrisk of disease.

“Yes, we may take an-other acre of land, or twoacres of land, to do the lay-out in this manor versuscramming everything to-gether, but there probablyaren't many crops you aregoing to grow that are goingto make you as much moneyas that one acre with cowson it,” Tyson said.

While it is almost impossi-ble to completely eliminatebirds and rodents, Tysonsaid there are some buildingmodications to control thepopulation. For birds, whichtend to be more of a seasonalproblem in winter, Tysonsaid to close holes largerthan one inch in feed storagebuildings and use plasticstrips over doorways. Inbarns, three-quarters-inchscreen can be installed overareas where birds perch.Farmers can stop rodentsfrom burrowing into build-ings with a barrier of ash-ing or gravel trench aroundthe edges. Controling weedsand mowing grass aroundbuildings removes places forrodents to live.

Although not usuallythought of as a bisecurity is-sue, Tyson said farms needto control drainage and mud,which usually contains ma-nure and urine. Mud pulledinto a barn on the tires of amixes wagons can containpathogens. Tyson said mudcan be controlled by divert-ing water away from farmbuildings and uses collectionareas for water coming offroofs.

“A dropbox culvert costs alittle more when doing con-struction, but in the long run,it pays,” he said.

Newer barns are usingdrop edges, a trench lledwith stone and drain tile toremove water coming off theroof. These drainage systemsalso give melting snow aroute to drain away. For hightrafc areas, Tyson recom-

mends farms consider con-crete or asphalt to keep mudout of barns.

In summary, Tyson said akey to good farm layout is tonever let trafc patterns in-terfere. Farmers should beable to move cattle and feedthem at the same time.Tyson said a good designshould eliminate drivingfeed through manure lanes.

Renewable energy projects recognizedCrystal Ball Farms of Osceola was one

of several renewable energy projects rec-ognized by Renew Wisconsin at its En-ergy Policy Summit Jan. 21 in Madison.

Others award recipients include EauClaire Energy Cooperative/Able Energy,Fall Creek and Sun Prairie; River Falls/New Richmond/WPPI Energy/H&H So-lar, New Richmond/River Falls; Letter-head Press/Sun Peak, New Berlin; Sisters

of St. Agnes/Eland Electric, Fond du Lac;Blenker Building Systems/CentralWaters Brewery/Jensen Center/NorthWind Renewable Energy, Amherst; FairShare Coalition/H&H Solar, central Wis-consin; Jewelers Mutual Insurance/Ener-gize, Neenah; Innity Retail Services/Kettle View, Turtle Lake; Organic Val-ley/Full Spectrum Solar, Cashton; City ofMilwaukee/ MREA/Arch Electric, Mil-

waukee; Components Co./ConvergenceEnergy, Brookeld; Outpost NaturalFoods/SunVest, Mequon; Kickapoo Cof-fee Roasters/Ethos Green Power, Viro-qua; Union Cab/Legacy Solar Coopera-tive/Midwest Solar Power, Madison;Northwest Wisconsin Renewable EnergyLearning Center/Legacy Solar, Osceola;and Spring Hill Farm/North Wind Re-newable Energy, Prairie Farm.

We’re proud to be a member of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association.

AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL

We design and build complete dairy facilities, homes, and commercial buildings.

LOYAL, WI 1-866-367-7408PHONE: (715) 255-9193

FAX: (715) 255-8093ROGER CELL: (715) 613-9193

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Mary & Pat LeddenMary & Pat LeddenSuzans Chippewa View DairySuzans Chippewa View DairyHolland Family CheeseHolland Family Cheese

United PrideUnited Pride Holland Family CheeseHolland Family CheeseHolland Family CheeseHolland Family Cheese


Durand business aims to cover up ‘eyesores’

Submitted photo

Danielle and Matt Unser displayed their Tank Top septictank covers at the Northern Green Expo Jan. 12-15 at theMinneapolis Convention Center.

By Nate JacksonRegional Editor | [email protected]

DURAND — MattUnser saw a problem, sohe decided to cover it up.

Unser’s family hasowned Unser Excavatingin Durand since 1986,and he said customerswould often ask him whatto do about the septictank covers in their yards.About three years ago,Unser started working ona product to concealthe covers, and last year,he and his wife, Danielle,founded Tank TopCovers Decorative LawnProducts, offering cus-tomers a couple of op-

tions for covering theirseptic tank covers.

“Everybody was al-ways asking how to con-ceal (septic tank lids).They’re an eyesore,”Unser said. “I’ve beentrying to come up withsomething for years.”

Unser currently has awishing well design and astone base and is workingon a barn and silo design.The Tank Tops, whichUnser has a patent on, aremade in Wisconsin usingrecycled plastic.

“We are trying to nd

ideas for things that looknice enough that peoplewant to put them in theiryards,” Unser said. “Wehave enough demand forthe barn and silo that we’llgo with that one next.”

Unser said Tank Topcovers can be used tocover septic tank lids,ventilation pipes, treestumps and well casings.They can be used asower planters and birdbaths and feeders andalso work as mailboxbases. The wishing wellmodel weighs 49 poundsand holds a cubic foot ofdirt.

“The top and side postsare put on with two

bolts,” Unser said. “Wewanted the design simpleenough that anyone couldput it together and get itset up.”

Unser was one of venalists for the 2014 IdeaChallenge contest held bythe Eau Claire AreaEconomic DevelopmentCorp. Unser said the goalnow is to get the TankTops into retail locations,including garden centers,to increase their visibil-ity.

“There have been a lotof people saying theywant them in the spring,”Unser said. “We’re reallyexcited about where it’sgoing to go.”

For more information, visitwww.tanktopcovers.com.

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S.D. Ellenbecker

S. D. Ellenbecker Inc. 715-257-76661222 Mount View Lane, Athens, WI 54411 • e-mail: [email protected]

S. D. Ellenbecker Inc.GENERAL CONTRACTOR

796722_1-27-16

Is Your Manufacturer, Sales, Installation And Parts SupplierFor Formerly “Sheahan” Manure Augers

SAME DESIGN, SAME DURABLE AUGERS15’-40’ length, motor or PTO drive. We have been installing “Sheahan” Brand Augers for over 20 Years.

Does Your Barn Cleaner Chute Need Replacing?

Install an S. D. Ellenbecker Inc. manure

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to your CLEANER chain life.

• 16” Heavy Duty Super Fliting

• 50-150 Ft. • Heavy Duty Gear Box

• Heavy Duty WEG Electrical Control Box w/Soft Start & Timers

• Installed in Precast NRCS-Approved Concrete Trough

Ellenbecker Sheahan Cross Augerfor Free Stall Barns

Building for the Future January 2016

Documents

Transcript of Building for the Future January 2016