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As winter approaches, proper barn preparation is vital to maintaining the health and productivity of your livestock, particularly in swine facilities. Effective ventilation is key to controlling air quality and temperature. Conducting a ventilation audit before the season starts ensures your barn is ready to support healthy animals through the cold months. Our Minimum Ventilation Checklist provides an easy guide to help you stay ahead of winter challenges.

The Importance of Winter Check-Ups

Winter inspections of ventilation systems are essential, as they often operate at reduced capacities during the colder months, allowing for a minimal margin of error. If the ventilation is not functioning properly, it can lead to increased humidity and gas buildup, adversely affecting pig health. Regular maintenance checks are necessary to maintain effective airflow for livestock during winter. This includes checking for blockages, ensuring fans and inlets function properly, and evaluating overall performance.

Key Areas to Focus On

To prepare your barn for the winter season, consider focusing on three main elements: Fans, Inlets, and Heaters. Implementing thorough checks across these areas will enable you to efficiently manage air quality and temperature.

1. Fans: Regularly verify the performance of fans, including their RPM and physical condition. Dust accumulation can severely hinder efficiency, with a small amount decreasing airflow significantly. Maintaining clean exhaust fans enhances operational efficiency and the safety of the barn environment.
2. Inlets: Inspect inlets for any blockages or damage that could disrupt airflow and ensure they respond optimally to control inputs. Proper maintenance of inlets ensures they can freely open and close, maintaining adequate ventilation.
3. Heaters: When inspecting heaters, make sure all units turn on correctly and are free of dust. Verify that temperature probes are working and placed correctly. Also, ensure brooder emitters and box heaters are clean and free from debris or corrosion. Additionally, check that throttle valves are set properly and inspect tube heaters for any disconnections or problems with air intake and exhaust.

Building Considerations

Proper barn preparation encompasses more than just ventilation. Inspect the integrity of curtains, assess insulation needs, and seal any gaps around the walls to minimize heat loss. Additionally, ensure that soffits are clear to effectively withstand winter conditions.

Download the Checklist

Make barn preparation a priority this winter with our Minimum Ventilation Checklist. This practical resource provides a step-by-step guide to help you prepare your barn for colder weather.

Winter presents unique challenges, but a well-ventilated barn ensures healthier, more productive livestock. Don’t leave your barn unprepared—download the Minimum Ventilation Checklist today to ensure your ventilation system and equipment are ready for the cold months ahead!

The pork industry is constantly evolving, with producers seeking innovative solutions to enhance their facilities and optimize production. Renovating existing barns is a practical and cost-effective way to meet the changing needs of a farm. This remodel offers a glimpse into how a traditional farrowing barn was converted into a modern pig nursery using Hog Slat’s manufactured plastic flooring.

The Original Barn:
The barn originally consisted of seven farrowing rooms, each measuring 22' x 60' and containing 24 farrowing crates. While this design served its purpose, the farm needed a space that could better accommodate its growing operation.


(Photo of 22'x60' room once used for farrowing)

Strategic Remodeling: Optimizing Space
To create a more efficient layout, the center wall between two of the farrowing rooms was removed, expanding the space into three larger nursery rooms (44' x 60') and one smaller room (22' x 60'). This change allowed the remodeled nursery to house up to 800 pigs in the larger rooms and 400 pigs in the smaller one. By allocating 3 square feet of usable space per pig, the design maximizes the area effectively.

(Photo of wall removed, opening floor plan for nursery)

Installing Hog Slat Plastic Flooring
The remodeled nursery was equipped with Hog Slat plastic flooring, a durable and easy-to-clean solution designed for nursery barns. Manufactured at Hog Slat’s facility in North Carolina, our ability to produce the flooring in-house gives us control over both the quality and consistency of the product, ensuring it meets the needs of modern pork operations.

(Hog Slat plastic nursery flooring installed)

Why Hog Slat Plastic Flooring?
Hog Slat plastic flooring offers several advantages:

• Simple Installation: The flooring’s interlocking tab system simplifies installation and enables wider spans with fewer support beams, resulting in cost savings for the producer.
• Durability You Can Trust: Designed to withstand the demands of a pig nursery barn, Hog Slat flooring provides lasting performance, helping producers minimize long-term replacement costs.
• Easy to Clean: With a smooth, self-cleaning surface, Hog Slat flooring makes barn maintenance easy, reducing downtime and promoting a healthy environment for the pigs.
• Optimal Traction: Featuring a textured surface and 3/8" slots, the flooring provides excellent traction, ensuring the pigs' safety as they move around the space.

Ready to start your own remodel? Contact Hog Slat today to discuss your project with one of our knowledgeable representatives.

HS/GPE/ESPS/SAS Sales Representatives Contact Information | Hog Slat

Concrete surfaces in agricultural environments are subjected to harsh conditions, including constant pig traffic and exposure to corrosive acids. These conditions can lead to cracks, spalling, and deterioration, compromising the safety and functionality of facilities. Vantek's V-Gard system offers an advanced concrete restoration and protection solution for these challenges.

Why Concrete Restoration is Essential

Concrete in agricultural settings, especially around wet/dry feeders and high-traffic areas, is prone to rapid wear due to constant exposure to moisture, feed contents, or a combination of both. Damaged concrete can result in safety hazards, increased maintenance costs, and potentially costly repair downtime. 

Restoring and protecting concrete with V-Gard not only addresses these issues but also extends the life of floors, saving time and money in the long run. With a life expectancy of over ten years, V-Gard outlasts other solutions, making it a wise investment for any agricultural operation.

The V-Gard Solution: Versatile and Durable

V-Gard is a versatile system designed to meet the specific challenges of agricultural concrete restoration. Whether needing an overlay, sealer, crack repair, or protective coating, V-Gard can handle it all. Its flexibility in application makes it ideal for various settings, from high-traffic slat floors to non-slip flooring in animal housing areas.

Engineered to withstand the harshest conditions, including acids and continuous pig traffic, V-Gard has demonstrated zero wear over extended periods, even in demanding environments, making it a reliable choice for farmers.

Application and Benefits of V-Gard

Applying the V-Gard system is straightforward. The process typically involves combining V-Gard epoxy with an admix to create a slurry that can be trowel-applied over the damaged surface. After broadcasting the selected aggregate to saturation over the wet slurry, the surface is left to cure, resulting in a robust, long-lasting finish.

For pig farmers, maintaining concrete surfaces ensures the safety and efficiency of the entire operation. Vantek's V-Gard system offers a comprehensive solution for restoring and protecting concrete, extending its life even in the most challenging conditions. With proven results and a straightforward application process, V-Gard is an essential tool for any farm looking to protect its investment in infrastructure.

Invest in V-Gard today to save your concrete's life before the cold weather sets in and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your floors are protected for the long haul. Visit any Hog Slat store or Concrete & Metal Repair | Hog Slat to learn more.