Farm structures

Presentation
on
Farm structures, their design and design of low cost structures
Course No. – PFE512
Course Name – Farm Structures And Environmental Control
Course Teacher:-
Er. P. S. Pisalkar
Presented by:-
Bogala Pravallika
ID NO:- 220116003
S. V. College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology
and Research Station, IGKV, Raipur.

From the management point of view, the farmstead should
be located near the centre of the farm or in the middle of the
long side. However, this arrangement is possible only in
large farms where the farm labourers also live near the
farmstead, as otherwise the farmstead becomes very much
isolated.
Location at one side or even at a corner near a road is
always helpful in procuring the farm supplies and in
disposing of farm produce. This will facilitate better social
life and protection, common water supply arrangement and
other conveniences.
Location of farmstead:

A site having high elevation and good natural drainage
should be selected.
The farmstead should be located near a source of
permanent water supply. Advantage of an existing well can
be taken while deciding the farmstead location.
Sites which have trees around will provide protection
against high wind velocities and dust storms, and will
provide shade for human beings and animals.

The farmstead area is occupied by residential buildings, storage
buildings, dairy barn, bullock shed, poultry houses, other service
buildings, threshing yard, roads, etc. and this area usually varies
from 3 to 5 per cent of the farm area.
Residential buildings should be located away from the cattle
shed and other buildings. This will ensure privacy and reduce the
nuisance of flies and smell coming from the dairy barn.
Residences and animals houses should be so located that the
prevailing wind will not blow from the animal houses to the
residences. Various buildings are arranged to provide the
minimum of walking from one to the other in doing the required
work. The silo pits and feed storages should be located near the
animal shelters. The milk room or milk house is generally placed
about 6m away from the barn.
Size and Arrangement of the Farmstead:

The layout of the farmstead should allow for possible future
extension of buildings. Care should be given, in designing the
buildings to get maximum convenience without much additional
cost of construction. Unnecessary ornamentation or carving on
the buildings does not add to the convenience, and on the other
hand involves extra expenditure.

Planning of Farm Residence:
The residential building on a farm is the heart of the farmstead.
It should be so designed and constructed that the owner has
the satisfaction of staying in a most comfortable and attractive
place. A residence is not merely a shelter alone, but is the centre
of a social life, a place of health, comfort and happiness of the
entire family in all stages and walks of life.
It must provide conveniences for all the life activities.
 There must be places for cooking, dining, sleeping, study,
guests, and other special requirements, to take maximum
advantage of the sun light, the residence should face south or
north.
Facing the residence onto the main road and rivers or streams
in another desirable feature.

However, the traditional designs of village houses have the
following defects :
Construction is unsatisfactory and not water proof.
Windows are too small
Rooms are too small
Kitchen are not properly constructed to remove the smoke
Animals are also kept in or around the house
Surroundings are often used as a waste disposal place.

Hence, a good house should have the following facilities:
Bedrooms-the number depends on the size of the family.
Verandahs both for sitting out and house work.
A Kitchen with good ventilation
Food grain store
Fuel wood store
Animal shelter
Animal fodder store
Latrine cum urinal and a bathing place
Sitting room cum DALAN
Open space inside or outside the house well enclosed for
social gatherings.
Space for biogas plant and slurry dump
Space for kitchen garden
Space for washing purposes
Space for farm tools and machinery storage

A farm house should be designed to provide maximum
utility and comfort. The various rooms should be so located as
to provide adequate comfort and minimum time and energy
wastage in going from one to the other.
Improved Farm House Design:
Bed Room :
A typical be room of 3.6 x 3 m will accommodate two
single beds of 1 x 2 m. Cross ventilation with one side
exposed to the prevailing breeze is a desirable feature in
design. Every bed room should be provided with attached
toilet facilities or should have an independent access to the
common toilet room. Some storage space is essential in every
bed room.

The drawing room generally serves as the room for
recreation and social gathering. The minimum size of the
drawing room is 4.5 x 3.6 m but some people prefer to have
one large room of about 6 x 4.5 m to serve as a drawing room
cum dining room. The drawing room is best suited to be on
one side of the house, and should generally open into the front
porch, kitchen, and bed room. Wall space in the drawing room
should have plenty of provision for natural light and
ventilation.
Drawing Room :

The kitchen is preferably place near the living room but
away from the bed rooms. It should be equipped with a sink
and many built-in-racks for storage of utensils and supplies.
Floor space of kitchens usually varies form 9.3 to 14 sq. m.
Store rooms and fuel storage space should be attached to the
kitchen.
Besides a large size chimney to carry out the smoke from
the built-in-cook stove, the kitchen should have cross
ventilation. One of the windows and a door must directly
open to the kitchen garden. The kitchen must have an eastern
location if possible, so that the rays of morning sun can
provide adequate light. Availabilities of LPG in rural areas
have made considerable difference in the design and layout
of kitchen in villages. Where gas stoves are not being used,
improved fire wood CHULHAS are being introduced.
Kitchen :

For Indian families, bath room and lavatory should usually
be separated. In the bath room, provision should be made for
both a shower and a direct tap bath.
If the water supply is not maintained throughout the day and
night, a small water reservoir may be a part of the bath room.
A hanger fro towels and a rack for soap, etc., are very
useful. For the lavatory, a flush arrangement is essential.
Toilet Rooms :

Store room:
The store room should be situated near the kitchen.
For a small family, store room of about 3×1.8 m is adequate.
It should be provided with rows of shelves on all sides.
Guest room:
The guest room should open only to the drawing
room and front verandah and must have an independent
across to the common toilet room, unless a special toilet
room is attached to it. A common size of a guest room is
3.6×3 m

Double leaf doors and windows are usually preferred.
The doors used in the living and bed rooms should be 2.1 x 0.9
m, where as those of the kitchen and bath rooms may be about 2 x
0.75 m.
Wooden door frames with only three pieces of 10.5 x 0.75 cm
size each are preferred to steel frames.
The window dimensions generally preferred is 1.2 x 0.9 m with
double pans on it. The bottom of the window is at 0.75 m above the
floor surface so that the tops of all windows are at the same height
as that of the doors.
The wooden frame is made of 10 x 7.5 cm cross-section.
Doors and windows in many places in India are provided with
wire mesh to keep the flies out of the room.
Doors and Windows:

Farm fencing:
Fencing may be used to protect or divide property, to
improve its appearance, to confine animals, or to exclude
animals.
Types of fencing:
 Woven mesh type
 Large mesh type
 Close mesh type
 Hexagonal mesh type
 Barbed wire fencing
 Plain wire fencing
 Welded wire fencing
 Electrical fencing

Large mesh type fences are more popular for general
farm use than any other type. Properly galvanized, such
weather protected wires are particularly used for large
animals, cattle, buffaloes, horses, etc. the space between the
vertical wires is kept between 15 and 30 cm whereas the
space between the horizontal wires varies between 7.5 and
22.5 cm. The space between the horizontal wires is closer at
the bottom and increases towards the top of the fence.
Large mesh type fencing:

Close mesh type fencing:
The close mesh type fence may
be considered as an ideal fence for
poultry houses, rabbits and goats. Up to
the first 43 cm height the spacing
between the horizontal wires varies
between 4 and 8 cm. In this type of
fencing, the horizontal wires are made
heavier than the vertical wires and the
vertical wires are wrapped round the
horizontal ones.
Hexagonal mesh type fencing:
Hexagonal woven type wire are
uniform all through their height.

Barbed wire fences are made of two or more strands of
smooth, galvanized-coated, steel wire twisted together with two
or four barbs spaced every 4 to 5 inches.
They are generally classified as either a standard or suspension
barbed wire fence. Standard barbed wire fences usually have
three to five strands of barbed wire stretched between posts that
are spaced between 15 to 25 feet apart.
Barbed wire fencing:

The suspension fence has 4 to 6 strands of wire stretched taut
so there is no more than 3 inches of sag between posts.
Depending upon the topography, line posts are generally
spaced between 80 to 120 feet apart.
The wires are held apart by twisted wire stays spaced 16 feet
apart.
Wind or animals hitting the fence cause it to sway back and
forth. This swaying motion keeps animals away from the fence
and discourages them from fighting through it.
To allow the fence to sway, the stays must not touch the
ground or the effectiveness of the suspension fence will be
reduced.

Plain Wire Standard galvanised wire is suitable for most fences
and has a single coating.
Heavy galvanised wire with its thicker coating is more resistant
to corrosion and should be considered in higher rainfall and
coastal areas.
Low tensile wire (soft wire) is used in most conventional
fences with close spaced posts.
Thicker wire should be used in higher pressure situations.
High tensile wire has a higher breaking strain providing more
strength to the fence and suitable for high pressure situations,
longer fence strains and wider post spacing’s.
High tensile requires more accurate straining and are more
difficult to handle and knot than soft wire.
Plain wire fencing:

Welded wire fencing:
This is similar to the woven, but the horizontal and
vertical wires are welded together to form a large, as well as
small, mesh at different heights for particular purposes. These
wires are available in rolls of 100 metres having heights
varying from 1 to 1.5 m. this material is generally preferred
for demarcating the boundary of a farm and works well with
hedge.

Electric fencing provides a number of benefits. It is:
Effective in animal control and pasture management
Cost Effective
Easily constructed and maintained
Easily modified to suit requirements
Light weight and easy to construct
Long-lasting due to low physical contact from animal
leaning on fence
Electrical fencing

How electric fencing works:
Electric energy from an energiser is pulsed along a
fence wire. When an animal touches the electrified wire it
completes the circuit resulting in an electric shock to the
animal. This shock is memorable so that the electric fence
becomes more of a psychological barrier rather than a physical
barrier.
Types of fencing:
There are two types of electric fences, permanent and
portable. Unless a temporary or removable fence is required a
permanent electric fence is recommended. Permanent fences
are economical, easy to install and operate. Portable fences are
suitable for short term animal control and rotational or cell
grazing.

DAIRY BARNS
An efficient management of cattle will be incomplete
without a well-planned and adequate housing of cattle.
Improper planning in the arrangement of animal housing may
result in additional labour charges and thus curtail the profit of
the owner.
Selection of Site for Dairy Farm:
Topography
Soil Type
Exposure to the sun and protection from wind
Accessibility, Durability and Attractiveness
Water Supply
Surrounding
Labour
Marketing
Electricity

Types of Dairy Barns:
There are three general types of dairy barns:
Stanchion barn
Loose housing barn with milking parlour
The open air barn

Stanchion barn:
In this barn, the cows are housed and milked in the same
building. It is also called the general purpose barn of the
cow house system of arrangement.
Individual feeding and management of animals are
possible. For eight or more cows a two row barn with either
face in or face out arrangement may be selected.
The face out type barn is preferred for milch animals and
also whenever the barn is to be enclosed. This arrangement
is important since most of the jobs are done from the rear of
the animals, and provides easy supervision. Such barns are
commonly built 10-11 m wide, with sufficient length to
accommodate all the animals.

The manure alley can be eliminated in the face in type, since
the open space outside the barn can be used for the purpose.
This gives a saving of about 20 per cent in floor area of barn
a compared to the face out type.
Face in type barns are usually preferred for bullocks and also
for open sheds type arrangement.
The maximum length of the barn should be restricted to 40 m
so that nearly 72 cows can be housed in one barn unit.
Gutters are usually 45 cm wide and 15 cm deep.
A minimum slope of 2% should be provided so that the
gutter may drain into a manure pit outside the barn.

Mangers used in barns should have widths ranging from
75 to 90 cm. The back of the manger is about 60 cm above the
floor so that cows may throw the fodder into the feed alley. The
length of the manger for individual cow is equal to the width of
the stall and may demarcated by a 12.5 cm high wall.
Feed alley 1.2 m wide is sufficient. It is the passage
between the outer wall and the manger along which a pushcart
full of silage may be moved.
The height of the walls running along the barn length
may be about 2.4 m. For gable roof, the maximum height of the
ceiling may vary between 5 and 5.5 m for a barn 10 to 11 m
wide.
For adequate lighting in the barn, 0.37 sq. m of window
area per cow is desirable.

Loose housing barn:
It permits the animals to move about freely and allows
simple and economical construction of the feeding and shelter
places.
The area required per cow depends upon the climate,
whether an inside or outside feeding arrangement is used, size
of the cows and average production of the herd.
A high producing cow needs more feed, more water and
also more space.
The floor space both for loafing as well as for feeding may
be required in the order of 9 to 11 sq. m per cow.
The feed manger space may be between 70 and 75 cm wide
for each cow.

Milking Parlour:
The milking parlour or milking room is room where
the cows are milked, but not housed. It is an essential part of
the loose housing barn but may also be used with a stanchion
or stall barn.
The most convenient milking room mow in common
use is known as the tandem with either single or two string
stall arrangement.
The herringbone milking parlour is also widely used.
Open air barn:
It does not any cover. The cows live in fields and they
are fed and milked there. This system is also known as the
loafing barn system and is not common on a well established
dairy.

Pen barn:
Pen barns are structures for sheltering and restricting dairy
animals.
On all dairy farms there should be additional accommodation
for calving, calf rearing and housing sick animals.
Pen barns or isolation boxes are suitable for this purpose.
They are either away from the main barn or they form a part of
it.
Sometimes a separate pen is provided for each bull.
The size of the pen varies from 11 to 17 sq. m for different
needs.
Either a square pen or a rectangular one having a minimum
width 3 m should be used.

The object of poultry housing is keep the fowls
comfortable, so as to promote health, get maximum
production, and converse feed and the energy generated by the
birds. A proper poultry house design must also aim at removing
the excess moisture the birds breath out from the lungs.
Poultry Housing:
Types of Poultry Houses:
Depending upon the material used for the construction
of the floors, the poultry houses can be broadly classified as:
Wire floored poultry house
Deep litter poultry house
Cage houses

Wire floored poultry house:
These houses make use of 12-14 gauge expanded metal or
welded wire mesh for making their floors.
The floor is placed about 45 cm above the ground level
having a rising slope of 15 per cent.
Series of nests are placed all along the posts throughout the
entire length of the house.
The floor of the nest may be of either wooden or hard cloth
with 12-15 per cent slope towards the central service alley of
the house.
At the lowest end of the floor, there is 3 cm high stopper to
collect the eggs. Feed and water troughs are suitably located
to facilitate the work.

The roof is covered with galvanized iron sheets.
About 20 per cent slope in roof is good enough and it is best
to have an overhang of about 1 m on all sides of a 5.5 m wide
house.
The overall dimensions of a 400 birds may be 23×5.5 m
having a service alley of 1.8 m width in the middle of the
house.
The entire housing is enclosed by means of hexagonal wire
netting of 1.25 cm mesh made of 20 gauge stands.

Deep litter poultry house:
It aims at keeping poultry inside a shed all the time. The birds
live on the floor, which is covered with a suitable litter of about
15 to 20 cm depth.
Litter material usually consists of chopped paddy straw, rice
husk or dry leaves. Materials like wheat or barley straw, dry
grass or dry stalks of maize and bajra also make good litter.
This arrangement saves labour involved in frequent cleaning
of the floor. It needs only periodic attention like stirring up the
litter.
Usually, the entire litter which gets well decomposed by the
one year is removed and used as a good manure.

Provision should be made for plenty of ventilation ,but at the
same time protection against sun and rains, by providing an
overhanging roof on all slides of the house, is essential.
A floor area of 0.36 sq. m per bird is usually provided. Thus,
the 2.4 × 2.4 m small shed can accommodate about 16 birds.
The litter can be kept dry by keeping the right number of birds,
by raising the floor level higher than its surroundings, by not
allowing the rainwater to enter through roof of side walls.
This housing offers an excellent opportunity for the birds to
burrow in it when the air temperature is high, and there by cool
themselves. Similarly they can warm themselves in the cold
weather.
Birds often keep busy in scratching and searching in the litter
and hence refrain from feather picking.

Cage houses:
These are generally built in warm regions where birds need
no protection from the cold winds.
The cages are built in continuous rows and may be one to
four rows of these cages in a house, depending upon its width.
Cages are made of welded steel wires and are provided with
a sloping floor and egg retainer from where the eggs can be
collected.
Cages may be made either to house one or two birds at time.
The dimensions of a cage to house one bird may be 0.6 × 0.2
× 0.45 m.
The feeding and watering troughs are placed outside the
cage so that the operator can easily supply the material.
Droppings are allowed to fall on the earth or concrete floor.
The cages are placed at a height between 75 and 90 cm from
the floor.

Grain is generally stored either in bags or in bulk. A
combined system of bag-cum-bulk storage is also practiced in
some parts of the country. In villages the bulk storage system is
more common than the storage in bags which is considered to be
a practicable method· of storing grain in the government
godowns as well as in trade.
There main following three types of storage structures
for storage of grains.
Traditional storage structures
Improved storage structures
Modern storage structures
Farm Silos
Grain storage

Traditional Storage Structures:
This types of storage structures having generally
capacities between 1 to 50 tonnes. The storage of grain is
generally done in one of the following storage structures in the
different rural and urban regions of India in bulk as well as in
bag storage.
Morai type storage structures
Bukhari type storage structures
Kothar type storage structure
Mud Kothi type storage structure
Muda type storage structure
Kanaj type storage structure
Kuthla type storage structure
Metal/ Steel bin type storage structure
Bag type storage structure

Morai type storage structures:
Grains – paddy, maize, sorghum
Capacity – 3.5 – 18 t
Shape- inverted truncated cone

Bukhari type storage structures:
Cylindrical in shape
Made of mud or combination of mud
and split bamboo
Raised above the ground by wooden
or masonry platform
Floor
Walls
Roof
Improved type – same structure
Rat proofing cones
Grains – wheat, gram, paddy, maize
and sorghum
Capacity – 3.5 – 18 t

Kothar type storage structure:
Store – paddy, maize, sorghum, wheat Capacity – 9-35 t
Structure – box
Improved Kothar – 5cm thick wooden planks and beams
No gap between the planks

Bag type storage structure:
Storage capacity is from 25 tonnes Generally the length is
about twice the width or greater
The entire structure should be moisture proof
Large size doors of 2.4 x 2.4 m and top ventilators
Each door is provided with a light overhanging hood
It should be provide with ventilators – having wire netting
and shutter

Improved Storage Structures:
Improved storage structures are the storage structures
for storage of food grains. In this type of storage structures
there are some improvements made in traditional storage
structures. This type of storage structures having a higher
storage capacity and long term storage of food grains than
traditional storage structures. Improved type of storage
structures having capacities is generally 1.5 to 150 tonnes. The
storage of grain is generally done in one of the following
storage structures in the different rural and urban regions of
India in bulk, bag as well as bag and bulk storage.

The improved storage structures are:
Pusa bin:
Pusa bin is like other traditional storage structures made of mud.
To make the storage structure moisture proof a plastic film is
used in all the inner sides of the bin.
Brick and cement bin:
These type of storage structures are very strong and effect of
seasons on these is minimum.
Bunker Storage:
These type of storage structure is used for long term storage and
a larger volume of grains storage.
'CAP' Storage structures:
The word 'CAP' is used for cover and plinth, plinth from the
bottom and cover from the top. This type of open storage is
considered as transit storage and serves the purpose of storage of
food grains in bags for short period.

Modern Storage Structures
The modern storage structures should be selected on the
basis of first on quality and then on cost considerations. There
are following types of modern storage structures.
Silo type of storage structures
Silos/bins are classified into two groups depending upon the
relative dimensions of the container. These are classified as, (1)
deep bins and (2) shallow bins.
Shallow bins:
Squat silos are comes under shallow bins. A squat silo has a
wall height to diameter ratio 0.5 or even less. Squat silo can
compete with sheds for low-cost quality storage.
Deep bins:
Vertical Silos are comes under this type of storage structures.
There are two types of vertical silos a) Flat bottom vertical silo
and b) Hopper bottom vertical silo.

Shed:
Generally, a horizontal sheds have been used to
provide low- cost, large volume storage. For storing grains
and other products a very large volume sheds have also been
constructed by Central Warehousing Corporation.

Farm Silos:
Farm silos is a farm structure used to store and protect
the animal fodder so that it is preserved in an ideal condition
for farm animals. Animal fodder is cut and packed in the air
tight silo to allow a partial fermentation to occur. The storage
fodder is known as silage.
There are two types of farm silos:
i) Tower silos and
ii) Horizontal silos.

Tower silos:
Cylindrical Shpe and made of masonary, wood or metal
Cost of construction is comparatively much higher than that of
horizontal type.
Loading of animal fodder is difficult.
Mechanical loader or a large capacity of blower is essential.
This type of storage structures are not recommended under
Indian conditions.
Horizontal silos:
In horizontal silos pit type, bunker type and trench or
stake type of storage structures used for storage of animal
fodder. There are surface as well as below ground (underground)
types of storage structures used on most of dairy farms as
temporary and permanent storage structures for silage. The
spoilage of silage and dry matter losses of these silos ranges
between 20 to 30 percent.

Pit Silos:
Permanent pit silo is a circular deep well which is lined all
around the side, and sealed from bottom, so that water may not
rise in to it.
Made in areas where the soil is deep and the water table is
very low.
Made of bricks, stones or concrete, and either cement or lime
can be used as a binding material.
A 22.5 cm thick wall will be used satisfactory up to 15 meter
depth.
The entire surface which is coming in contact with the silage
should be plastered to make it smooth, air tight and water tight.
Simple roof is made over the silo to protect the silage from
sun and rain.

Corrugated metal sheet dome or half pitch roof with ample
overhang on all the sides are most economical and provide
more space for filling.
Stairs may be built along with wall for removing silage from
the silo.
The diameter of a silo is usually limited to 6 m and its depth
is kept 2 to 3 times that of diameter.
When the silo is opened for removing the silage, nobody
should enter till the gases are removed.

Trench Silos:
Unlined trench silo can be made easily without involving
any investment on building materials such as brick, cement
and sand.
Unlined silos give more spoilage and are likely to have
caved side walls due to excessive rain and tend to become
muddy at the bottom. So, lined trench silos are therefore
become popular.
The walls of the trench silos can be lined with brick,
concrete or cement plaster with reinforcing wire mesh.
If possible the silo should be roofed.
Drains should be made around trench to intercept surface
water.

Fig. Cross – section of trench silo showing wall lining
To facilitate drainage it is desirable to locate the trench silo on
slopping ground.
Capacity is depends on size of herd and number of day the
silage is fed in a year.
It is always economical to construct only one trench silo, even
if it is quite larger.
Sidewalls are given generally 33 per cent slope.

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