Award-winning entry submitted by Builder: POST Farm Structures
Designed By: POST Farm Structures
Engineered By: Tacoma Engineers
CFBA Member Suppliers: Tampa Hall, Andex Metals, Davon Sales
Description:
92’-8” x 280’-4” Double Robot Dairy Barn
1. 122 cow free stall barn
2. 28’ x 40’ milkhouse with timber porch
3. West wing of barn for calf management with 3 maternity pens and 54 heifer stalls for various stages
4. Dairy barn utilizing free flow barn design with robotic system by Lely. Two A4 Robots in “L” configuration for easy cow management
5. Double robot rooms made with Nu-Form Conform walls
6. 8’- 0” deep raceway manure pit, with bi-directional agitation. Slatted floors with new traction design for minimal slipping
7. Deep bedded stalls for cow comfort
8. Raised office to provide visibility to the milking herd and robots
9. Special needs area adjacent to Robot Room
10. Barn designed for maximum air flow utilizing slope ceilings, inflated sidewall curtains and large fans for air circulation
11. Natural lighting from curtain openings and large custom gable end windows to reduce energy consumption
12. Walls are clad with easy clean interlocking PVC panel and ceiling clad with vinyl
13. Cow Welfare flexible green stalls from Denmark
14. Cow Welfare flexible feed fence to milking herd
Overview from POST Farm Structures:
The award winning project in the Dairy category was designed and built by POST Farm Structures. The barn houses 122 cows and 52 young stock, has pack separation and maternity areas and allows for future expansion to fill the capacity of the free flow A4 Lely robots. Focus was on ensuring cow comfort with deep bedded Cow-welfare Flex stalls and Flex Feed Fence and an efficient layout for the cows to access feed, water and robots. The layout accommodates slinger access to bed the stalls; and the race-way slatted manure pit (with new traction design) that can be bi-directionally agitated. The raised office overlooks the whole barn to provide quick observation while the cow handling areas are designed for one operator. The air-curtain ventilation system provides an abundance of natural light and maintains a dry and warm environment in wet and cooler temperatures. The walls are clad using poly coated plywood in high traffic areas for durability and PVC liner in all other areas. The front of the barn was finished with a wrap-around timber porch around the milk-house to provide an inviting entrance.
