Another busy weekend has passed and rolled right into a very busy week! New concrete, new calf, and some new updates to the EPRI project from last summer!
We poured concrete Saturday morning. I started at 5am with making sure the driveway was cleared out, grades were as close as I could get them and we were ready for the concrete. Short of some little tweaks here and there I was pretty close with everything.
First truck arrived at 7:30 am. We barely got the wire down and the two form boards that we needed set and he was ready to unload. I am posting some random pics of the pour so that those who have never done this before can see a little of what is involved.
I used a trench drain so that the floor could be evenly sloped from all corners and would also be much easier to clean as the space you are washing into is much larger than a small square or circular drain. It also drains out the end so if something falls in it is not lost forever! You will also notice that it is pinned in tight and also tied into with rebar and wire. You pour the concrete under to lock it all together so it is one piece. If you do not get the concrete to encase it well enough the concrete will break around the drain and fail.
Above the guys are getting the concrete spread and close to finish grade so it can be screeded of with the screed board. To set the screed level you float the edges to the proper height and then using a long board you hand screed (scrape with the board) the concrete to finish grade. After screeding to grade you use a large float to make it smooth and let it set for a while till hard enough to support some weight.
Once the concrete has set enough to support some weight they guys slide out on it on special kneeling pads to finish it off. I wanted the shop floor smooth but not like glass so they troweled it one time to make it smooth but leave just a little roughness so you don't slip when it is wet.
The front apron has a broom finish so it is much more coarse so you don't slip if wet, dirty, or snowy. This picture was taken just after everything was done and the guys were packing to leave. Total time start to finish was about 3 hours total concrete was 14 yards. It went very fast!
We always have to date our pours and so everyone got to put a hand print in. If you look closely we had friends over for the day and their daughter got to put her print in with everyone else. You may also notice that my sons print seams a little strange! That is because he was upset for some reason and when he put his hand print in he tried to grab a wad of concrete so it is more of a claw print! He will be able to tell his kids about that one!
Here is a good pic showing the finished floor inside and the broom finish outside.
The last picture is of the back of the new building where the new feed area for the feeder pigs will be. The new feed pad will be between the buildings. The rest of the concrete I used to create a permanent swale so be sure the water goes away from the barn instead of into it. Where the concrete is is also where the pigs liked to make a mud hole and would back the rain water up till it ran into the barn. This will stop that from happening!
Our last calf of the 2015 calving season has finally arrived. Frosty had a beautiful little black baby girl over night Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Lastly, those of you who do follow the blog will remember the large expansion project I did last year that included a buffer strip to control runoff, a heavy use feed pad, and a lot of fencing to keep the cattle out of the stream that our farm is named after. This was funded through a program that is being research by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). They are partnered up with American Farmland Trust and together are trying to develop a nutrient trading program to allow for power companies to offset their emissions at their plants by helping install and maintain pollution sources upstream from their plants.
There were several projects in the trial run but only four of them were selected to be a part of their campaign and for more study into the affects of the project. We are one of those four selected projects and I had the honor of being interviewed for their future presentation of the results. I also was able to show them personally the results of the project and how it has helped us and those around us.
Power plants are a major source of pollution that is generated while creating the electric power that feeds our society and makes the simplest things in life, like running water and lights, possible. For many years there have been large advances and upgrades in controls to minimize this pollution source. However, at a given point, the return on investment is so small compared to the cost that it just doesn't make any impact. "The law of Diminishing Returns!" So, what is being researched and developed is a system for the power industry to be able to invest that money into other pollution sources in the agriculture industry to offset those emissions. The return on investment in the agriculture sector is enormous per dollar spent compared to the same money spent at the power plant.
A huge side affect of this program is an increased standard of living and quality of life for farmers who are part of the program as well as the animals and family fed by those farms. Personally this project allowed me to be able to expand our farm to be able to support more families with the food they need without negatively affecting the environment that feeds us all. Furthermore, because of the systems we had help installing we are also able to provide a much better quality of life for the animals we are raising here on the farm.
If you have never heard of this or want to learn more please visit their website and learn what you can do to be a part of a solution to a world wide problem.
I also encourage you to check out American Farmland Trust who is teamed up with EPRI and has been the group directly working with our local extension agency and other agencies to get this out to the agriculture sector to see if it can work.
Have a wonderful week everyone and I will be sure to let you know when the video is ready for viewing!!!!
Kenny
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