What Makes a Good Cattle Yard Design?
Regardless of the head of cattle you rear on your property, a good cattle yard design can make livestock management significantly easier. Raising livestock is hard work, but it’s made easier by having the right infrastructure on hand – that includes cattle yards. A poorly designed cattle yard can increase the risk of accident or injury to both cattle and farm hands. Investing in a modern and well-designed cattle yard, can significantly reduce the rate of farm related incidents.
Cattle Yard Design Location
You don’t expect a house built on sand to last long. The same is true for cattle yard sites. Picking the right location to erect your cattle yard is critical to its longevity and continued usability.
Most importantly, your cattle yard should be:
- Centrally located on your farm, this allows easy access from all directions
- Accessible by an all-weather road
Your cattle yard’s site should ideally have sufficient drainage, shade, access to water and be in reasonable proximity to any farm buildings.
Materials
Build a cattle yard to last by using quality materials. Any equipment or infrastructure as important as a cattle yard is always an investment. It’s worth spending more on quality materials to ensure the durability and longevity of your infrastructure. The preferred material choice for many farmers’ cattle yard designs is steel, due to its strength and reliability. Easily handle livestock with heavy robust steel equipment. Additionally, steel components also make it easier to comply with occupational health and safety standards – one less thing to worry about for farmers and business owners.
Components
Having the right components in your cattle yard is essential to its operation. The head of cattle you raise can determine which specific elements are required as well as the location and number of each. A good cattle yard design should provide multiple points of access, for both livestock and farm hands. An insufficient number of access points will greatly increase the risk of injury. Should animals become panicked, it’s essential that handlers can easily move out of the way. Man gates, slide gates and cattle access points are all important inclusions in a cattle yard design.
Other elements should work together to optimise the flow of livestock. Races in particular, including curved races, increase the directional movement of cattle, whilst discouraging any individuals from turning against the flow of the heard.
Working with a Steel Fabricator
The decision to work with a steel fabricator who specialises in building cattle yards can streamline the design and manufacture process. With most farmers tied up tending to the numerous tasks involved in running a farm, delegating the design process to an experienced fabricator is an easy decision. Farmers working with a cattle yard designer can save themselves time and effort, which can be used more productively elsewhere.
Managing livestock on a cattle farm is made easier by the presence of the right equipment – cattle yards included. As technology and components become more developed and older cattle yards deteriorate, it’s always a good idea to invest in a new steel cattle yard. Speak to the team at Steel Supplies Charters Towers for more information on cattle yard designs.