NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
November 22, 2000
Dairy buildings and equipment must be designed and built to create a favorable environment for the animals and consider labor requirements, animal and material flow, pollution control, expansion possibilities, and management requirements. Developing facilities that meet these requirements, is not a simple task, says Ken Hellevang, agricultural engineer with the North Dakota State University Extension Service.
Those planning to build or remodel dairy facilities will find "Dairy Freestall Housing and Equipment," MWPS-7, to be a comprehensive resource, Hellevang says. The recently released seventh edition of this popular publication from MWPS (MidWest Plan Service) covers all aspects of freestall dairy facilities including facility and equipment planning. Discussions in the book focus on total herd management by production groups, management by age groups, and replacement animal housing.
The handbook costs $22 per copy. To order a copy or for more information, contact Extension Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, P.O. Box 5626, NDSU, Fargo, ND 58105. It can also be ordered on the internet at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/mwps.htm.
Some of the new, expanded, and revised topics in this edition of MWPS-7 include discussions of farmstead layouts, large dairy operations, three- and six-row barns, dry cow facilities, milkline sizing, palpation rail construction, evaporative cooling and circulation fans. This edition also has expanded discussions of manure production values and the handling of sand-laden manure. Chapter topics include replacement animal housing areas, milking herd facilities, milking centers, special handling and treatment areas, building environment, manure and wastewater management, feeding facilities and utilities.
Hellevang says the book’s more than 110 drawings and figures provide design detail for forward and side lunge freestalls, post and rail feeding fences, brisket boards, milking center layouts, manure management systems, a herringbone palpation facility, and heating and ventilation systems and other elements. Also included in the book are more than 65 tables that provide information about freestall dimensions, alley widths, minimum feed space requirements, manure production, bedding requirements, ventilating rates for warm barns, water volumes required for flushing waste, lighting design requirements and other topics.
"Dairy Freestall Housing and Equipment" was prepared under the direction of the Dairy Handbook Revision Committee of MWPS. Committee members are W.G. Bickert, chair, Michigan State University; K. A. Janni, University of Minnesota; B.J. Holmes and D.W. Kammel, University of Wisconsin; J.M. Zulovich, University of Missouri; and R. Stowell, The Ohio State University. MWPS is a cooperative research and extension organization representing NDSU and the 11 other land-grant universities of the North Central Region of the United States.
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Source: Ken Hellevang, (701) 231-7243
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629