Monthly Barn Report: May

As promised this week, here is the first Monthly Barn Report: May. Since my last construction progress report ended in the middle of May, I think you can tell just from the pictures that May was the month of the most visible dramatic changes. Pretty much the whole barn went up in the month of May. From the first trusses going up, to a finished frame, seeing the roof go on and get finished, and prepping for the first big concrete pour, it all happened in May!

When I left off on May 19th, all the frame was up except for the middle big beams. This view above of the south end of the barn you can see a truss in the middle. On the north end of the barn it transitions to a open middle. The milking cows are housed on the north end of the barn and this openness of the trusses allows for three rows of freestalls. Here’s a good view of transition in the picture below. Fun little side note, it took 3 lifts to get the the huge beams (that span that middle open area) lifted up.

The frame got completely finished on May 19th with all the purlins going on and ready for the roof by May 20th. Going with all steel construction was one of the decisions we spent a long time on. In the end with the roof on and still today 7 months later we are glad we made that decision. The finished look and just structural element can’t be beat with all steel. You might notice that the peak looks a little different too. This allows for great air flow. Especially in the summer time it creates a funnel type effect that keeps the hot air moving out of the barn. The two peaks allow for that ventilation without letting all the Oregon rain come in.

While we waited for the metal for the roof to arrive lots of work took place in the interior of the barn. Lots of gravel was poured to start to make ready for the concrete for the feed lanes and cow alleys. The robot rooms were dug out and also the trench for the robot communication lines to the office. It was definitely exciting to see and stand in the robots rooms for the first time!

The metal for the roof arrived on May 25th and the crew made quick work of getting it up! Nolan especially enjoyed watching the guys all the way up there getting the roof on. Quite the fun process for the boys to enjoy. We were excited to get the roof on because that meant our interior was safe from Oregon’s unpredictable weather and we could pour concrete without having to worry about rain. We finished the roof on May 30th.

With the roof finished that meant that the final prep work could take place for pouring concrete on the first outside feed lane. This eastern feed lane is where we will drive the feed wagon to feed the dry cows and one side of the milking herd. The prep work included not only getting the lane ready but also placing posts for the stanchions and feed rail where the two groups will eat through. Because of the ground leveling this feed alley also has an outside wall. Prep work was all complete and we were ready for our first big cement pour on the last day of May, the 31st.

So that’s a look at the rest of what happened in May. It really was probably our most exciting month! I hope you enjoyed this monthly report, only 7 months late 😉 stay tuned for June!