Swine building maintenance the topic of statewide workshops – Discover Muscatine

By Kapil AroraIowa State University Extension and Outreach

AMES, Iowa The overall profitability of a livestock production operation greatly depends on the age of the buildings.

Maintenance of buildings is critical for their continued use. Techniques that can help improve the usable life of roofs, concrete, slats, and trusses need to be considered and implemented, notes Kapil Arora, an agricultural engineering field specialist with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach.

ISU Extension and Outreach is joining industry partners to offer five workshops on the maintenance issues faced by facility managers and maintenance crews.

These workshops will discuss concrete pit maintenance and construction, truss management, roof and moisture management, and other repair and maintenance issues that can help protect the building and extend its life.

Participants also will learn about unique ways to allow clean air into the attic space and minimize pit-ventilated gases from entering the attic during periods of minimum ventilation during winter months, helping to reduce roof corrosion. Ways to maintain concrete slats including their repair, to help enhance their usable life, will also be discussed.

The workshops are geared toward livestock producers, livestock building owners and contractors, facility managers, maintenance crew members, engineers, designers, and others interested in swine building maintenance.

The workshops are being offered in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and are sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Hog Slat, Pinnacle, Integrity Builders & Supply Inc., AgVice, Precision Structures Inc., QC Supply, and Premier Ag Systems.

Workshops will be held in Carroll (March 9), Webster City (March 16), Le Mars (March 17), Nashua (March 23), and Washington (March 24). Additional workshop details including registration deadlines and workshop locations are available in the online brochure.

All workshops are the same and participants may register for one location only.

Registration is $35 per participant and pre-registration is required, as space is limited. Walk-ins will only be accepted if space is available. Participants can register by sending payment with the completed registration form to the address included on the online brochure for the respective location. Payments using a credit card (fees apply) can be made for any of the five locations by calling the ISU Extension and Outreach Hamilton County office at 515-832-9597.

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Swine building maintenance the topic of statewide workshops - Discover Muscatine