Humans have been domesticating animals since ancient times. This practice is getting more advanced thanks to modern technologies and better practices. With time, farmers and ranchers have started realizing the benefit of switching to steel livestock barns. It is designed for quick build, low upkeep, and is resilient. Steel is tougher than best-quality lumber. Both you and your bovine population will love steel barn. Livestock barns made of metal can be tailored to have aesthetic appeal and long-lasting practicality, whether small stables or large cattle ranch structures.
USDA reports show 91.9 million herds of cattle and calves on American farms as of January 2022. These livestock need proper shelter. One of the most significant benefits of a steel barn is that it is durable and requires little maintenance annually. Metal barns have multiple applications in agricultural practices.
Why metal barns are the best option for your livestock
Pest Resistance
Termites damage the wooden building internally by eating them through. Usually, the wooden structure provides a great source of food for pests like termites. When you install a steel livestock barn on your property, you do not have to worry about damage from pests.
Also, metal structures are more robust and denser than wooden. Hence rats and insects can’t permeate through them. These animals can deplete livestock’s food supply or, worst, cause disease to your farm animals. The last thing a farm owner will want is to see their livestock unhealthy and dying.
According to one of the reports published by the University of Hawaii, when animals such as ticks, insects, and others come in contact with agricultural animals, they spread disease agents and parasites, causing blood loss, anemia, physical damage to animal and its products, reduce their weight, compromise their immunity and worst kill them.
This is where a metal livestock barn comes in handy. They safeguard your animals from the problems mentioned above.
Weather Protection
Like wooden barns, a metal barn does not decay due to rain, snow, storms, and sun exposure. During extreme weather conditions, steel building will show their resilient nature. Storms can lead to the collapse of stick-built buildings. If so, it can damage equipment or crush animals beneath it.
Steel livestock barn for your animals is a perfect choice as they prevent most mishaps. Steel barns, except for a direct hit, can tolerate extreme natural events like tornadoes and hurricanes. Currently, ranchers prefer metal as a go-to option for animal shelters.
Ward Off Intruders
A metal barn will keep all potential predators at bay. With wooden structures, any animals, like snakes, can enter your chicken wire through wooden planks and devour them. With steel structures, you have an assurance that your animals are safe & sound. It is hard for any animal to dig through metal.
Other carnivores like foxes and coyotes cannot break into a steel building to steal your livestock. With time, wood decay and weaken due to nature’s forces. A barn with compromised structural integrity is dangerous to ranchers and their animals.
A metal livestock barn is a sustainable and ethical way to protect your animals from predators rather than opting for lethal methods.
Protection Against Barn Fire
Even a tiny spark from an electric socket, a little moisture build-up in baled hay, or someone carelessly smoking can start a barn fire. These barn fires can kill large amounts of livestock in a few minutes. According to Animal Welfare Institute, almost half a million farm animals perished in barn fire in 2022. The majority of these barn fires occurred in Wisconsin. New York, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
Not just farmers and ranchers lose their animals, and they also lose a significant amount of money. For example, in December 2022, a fire at a poultry farm in Lebanon Country, Pennsylvania, killed 250,000 chickens and caused $12 million in damage.
At just 570℉, a wooden will start burning; however, steel takes around 1400℉. You can see a clear winner here. Further, to enhance protection against fire, you can add a proper insulator to your metal barn. It will prevent fire from spreading and give you enough time to extinguish it. In 2020-2021, more than 2.3 million farm animals died due to fire.
Ease of Customization
Unlike wooden barns, which require many support columns, steel barns can be constructed column-free. This allows you to easily design the interior according to your choice. You can have open floor space with stalls with neck rails. You can opt for high ceilings for ventilation and add a loft for extra storage.
Different animals require different needs. You have the freedom to design your metal livestock barn as per your and your animal’s needs. You can choose color, exterior accents, type of roofing, mezzanine floors, and other design features for your steel structure.
Durability and Minimum Maintenance
Steels are highly durable materials on our planet. You do not have to spend much money on repair and restoration work. With a little maintenance, you can keep your structure clean and disinfected. Metal barns are virtually maintenance-free.
Painting your barn every season or spreading insecticides and pesticides can be annoying when you have so much work. With steel buildings, you can leave these worries behind and focus on generating revenue, as they only require to be cleaned once in a while. Steels are long-lasting.
Future Upgrade
In the future, if you want to host more animals to increase your revenue, it is possible to expand your metal livestock barn. Metal designs are flexible, and scalability options are vast. For example, if you want to increase the length of your barn, you can remove an end wall, add additional frames, walls, and roof panels, and then reattach the end wall again.
CONCLUSION
The durability, cost-effectiveness, and resilient nature of steel livestock barns are attracting more and more farmers and ranchers. In agribusiness, housing the animals is essential for you as they are the primary source of revenue. You can take it one step further by opting for a safer choice, i.e., metal barn. It will be inexpensive in the long run because of its resilient nature. Even if you are not into agribusiness, you can use a barn as you like it because they are highly versatile.
