QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING

SELF – PACED LEARNING MODULE

IN

ABE 22 (MATERIALS AND PROCESSES FOR ABE)

BY:

ANALINDA S. CORDOVA
Assistant Professor I

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
MODULE 4

Agricultural Structure Planning and Construction

Learning Objectives:

After reading this lesson, you must be able to:

1. appreciate housing planning

2. identify actors to be considered while designing a livestock farm
3. prepare housing plan and construction details

Housing Plan

Selection of site for farm building

Proper housing which is conducive to good health, comfort and protection from inclement weather
and which would enable the animals to utilize their genetic ability and feed for optimal production.

For construction of farm buildings selection of site is most important. Before selecting a site the
following points are to be considered,

Soil
 Soil must be suitable for strong foundation.
 Marcy, clay, sandy, rock soils are not suitable.
 Loamy and gravely soils are best suited for building construction.

Availability of land
 There should be vast area to construct all building and should give way to future expansion of
farm.
 Atleast 2-3 acre land is required for 200 cows accommodation.
 For 2 cows 1-acre land is essential for fodder production.

Drainage system
 Proper drainage of rain and subsoil water should be provided to keep healthy environment and
to protect the building from dampness.

Availability of water
 Plenty of water is needed for farm operations like washing, fodder cultivation, processing of milk
and byproducts and for drinking.
 Hence a water source which provides water constantly is essential.

Electricity
 It should be available at the site.
 It is needed for operating various machines used in the farm and is the light source to the
animals.

Protection from wind and solar radiation

 If the farm building in open or exposed area, the wind breaks in the farm of tall quick growing
trees should be grown near the building.
 This will reduce the wind velocity and solar radiation.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
Protection from noise and other disturbance
 The farm site should be away from noise producing factory/chemical industry, sewage disposing
area.
 The industrial effluents in the form of gaseous or liquid may pollute surrounding resources.
 Noise is also found to affect the animal production. Hence the farm should be away from city.

Availability of market facility

 The farm should be away from the city but at the same time it should be nearer to city thereby
the products produced from the farm could be marketed easily.

Transport facility
 The farm buildings should be provided with good road and also have the accessibility to reach
the market.
 This will reduce the transport cost and avoid spoilage of products.

Miscellaneous
 Other facilities like availability of telephone, nearby school for children of farm workers, post
office, shopping center and entertainment facilities should be provided.

Factors to be considered while designing a livestock farm

 Different types of enterprises such as dairy, piggery, sheep and goat units need different building
design. So the design should be prepared to meet the need of a particular enterprise.
 Each enterprise may adapt different systems of production and management. The design may be
influenced by enterprise also. The following factors may be considered while designing a livestock
farm,

1. Designing for unit

 It is desirable to design the accommodation for a workable unit.
 It will give opportunity to study the need of smaller group with regard to floor space, feeding
space required for different kinds of animals.

2. Structural form
 Shape and design of building should meet the needs of all classes of livestock.
 Uniformity in the appearance should be maintained. We have to decide the number of animals
to be housed in the building and number of buildings to be constructed.

3. Designing for flexibility

 Animal building has to be designed to meet the requirement of changing enterprises.
 This will increase the utility of buildings. Spacious building without pillars can be easily being
adopted for different enterprises with little modifications in the building.
 For example large intensive dairy buildings can be used for rearing pig or sheep and goat with
little modification.

4. Shape of the roof

 It is designed to suit the local climatic conditions. Gable with roof ventilator is necessary for hot
condition.
 Monitor roof is suitable for building with smaller width.

5. Standard width of buildings

 Single row cow shed should have length of 3. 80 to 4.25 metres and
 Double row cow shed should have 7. 90 to 8.70 metres length.

6. Standard height of the building

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
 The standard height of the building may differ according to the roofing material and agro climatic
condition.

7. Length of building
 The standard length of building may be of any. It may vary depends upon the number of animals
housed.
 Length can be determined based on the total stock to be housed within the building.
 Example: In case of dairy 15-20 animals in single row system and 20-50 animals in double row
system and above 50 animals a separate shed should be provided.

The following points should be considered before planning and designing

animal houses

 It should be of attractive appearance

 It should minimize labour cost
 Efficiency of the operation should be increased
 It should have resale value

Plan preparation is essential for construction of animal houses. First a rough plan
which consists of following should be prepared

a. Site plan
 It is used to locate the site where the buildings are to be erected.
 It should contain details of various building arrangement, road formation and space between
buildings etc will be located.

b. Floor plan
 It is the aerial view of the different structures to be erected within a farm building.
 It should contain details like dimensions of the building, location of ventilators, and doorways
will be marked in the floor plan.

c. Elevation
 The appearance and view of the whole building will be shown in the elevation.

d. Cross section
 t gives details of building foundation, type of flooring, walls and roof of the building.
 The internal fittings, partition, feeding and securing devices should be clearly shown.

e. Master plan
 After preparing the rough plans and found satisfactory a master plan should be prepared.
 The master plans are prepared in semi-transparent paper with black ink as per scale.
 From this mass production of plans will be made by subsequent process like blue printing.

f. Van – Dyke print

 These are negatives of the original drawing. Black (or) blue lines are provided on the white back
ground in the negative.

g. Blue print
 Mass production of plans are made from negatives by exposing them to sensitive blue print paper
developed in water and fixed in potassium dichromate.
 It is used to estimate the cost and to carry out the construction work.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
h. Orientation
 The farm housing can be constructed facing road; other buildings may be turned at an angle to
road or reversed to take advantage of the prevailing wind and sunlight.
 In general animal sheds are located with long axis east to west the paddock side facing the north
to get direct sunlight during winter and to prevent entry of direct sunlight into the shed during
other seasons.

GENERAL LAYOUT/ ARRANGEMENT OF BUILDINGS OF THE FARM

 Proper planning, designing and arrangement of various building in a farm is necessary for a
successful enterprise.
 Layout is essential to increase the profit, decrease the production cost, and to increase the
efficiency of operations in the farm.

The farm buildings can be grouped into five major categories:

a) Farm houses or homestead

b) Farm buildings or farmstead

c) Farm store

a) Isolation shed

e) Quarantine shed

a) Farm houses or homestead

 Farm houses are the residential building meant for the person working in the farm.
 The farm house should never be placed to the leeward side of the farm building.
 Attention to this point tends to prevent flies and smell from the manure heap being blown towards
the dwelling houses.
 Farm house should be located at windward side. The farm office should be located in the
prominent place most probably at the center of the farm.
 The manager’s house should be located at the entrance. This facilitates efficient supervision.
 All the buildings in the farm should be grouped together for efficient operation. The related
enterprises must be grouped.
 The major enterprises which need more attention should be located nearer the farm office.
 In mixed farming the piggery unit can be located away from the dairy unit as well as manager’s
office.

b. Farm buildings or farmstead

 These are meant for housing the livestock.
 The farm buildings should be kept well away from the farm house and worker’s cottages.
 But consideration must be given to the distances being not too great, otherwise stockmen or
other animal attendants might be reluctant to turn out at night or in bad weather to give the
animals the required attention.

c. Farm store
 Farm store is meant for storage of feed materials as well as other farm products.

d. Quarantine shed
 Quarantine shed should be located at the entrance of the farm.
 So that new animals purchased from outside may be kept and if they are found to be free from
diseases, it can be included in the farm.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
e. Isolation shed
 It should be located away from the healthy animal shed.

1. Foundation
 Foundation is the basic structure to be put up in any construction work. It consists of two parts
namely

o 1. Footing
o 2. Foundation wall

A. Footing

Footing is the broad base of the foundation wall designed to carry the load without settlement

Dimension Heavy Light

Width 24’’ 12’’
Depth 12’’ 8’’

B. Foundation wall
 The height of the foundation wall required for farm buildings depends on the soil condition of the
site.
 Deeper foundation is necessary in loose soil and shallow in firm rocky soil.
 Generally the height for light farm building will vary from 18” to 30”. The thickness will vary from
9” to 12”

a. Material used

 Foundation footing can be made of cement concrete or brick and cement mortar.
 Concrete foundation is stronger and is called monolithic foundation.
 Brick foundation is provided with stepped up increase in width towards the base. It is not so
strong as concrete.

b. Method of putting foundation

 Trenches of suitable size are put up to receive foundation. The base is hardened, made smooth
and level.
 Then the footing and foundation wall is put up to ground level.
 The surface is smoothened and levelled again.
 At this place, a 4% layer of damp proof course of asphalt or other material is introduced to
prevent absorption of moisture.

2. Walls and Wall materials

 Walls are the supporting structures built above the foundation to enclose the buildings.
 They may be constructed with materials like brick, stones or concrete with thickness of 9”, 12” and
6” respectively.
 Non-weight bearing walls of brick need not be thicker than 4 ½”.
 The height of the wall depends upon the type of animals to be housed under the building.
 Principles followed for finishing the walls in animal houses are as follows,
 The height up to 4 feet from floor should be finished smoother with hard cement plaster and made
washable for reasons of hygiene.
 Corners should be filled and rounded to prevent accumulation of dust.
 The sharp edges and angles should be rounded to prevent accident.

A. Bricks
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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
a). Building bricks

 They are made out of brick earth, which are 50 per cent clay and 50 per cent sand.
 Rectangular blocks are prepared by molds and cut by machines.
 Then they are heated in the Kiln at proper temperature.
 Well made machine bricks will have standard dimensions of 9" x 4½ " x 3".
 They will have uniform shape, colour and texture and will be sharp on angles.
 They produce clear ringing sound when struck with hard objects.

b). Vitrified paving bricks

 These are hard, impervious and durable bricks paving more than 10 per cent of iron oxide.
 They are heated at very high temperature to the point of vitification.
 They are grooved on the outer surface and have a strong and hard finish. They are damp proof.
 They are special bricks made for use as flooring in animal houses.

c). Glazed bricks

 These are small bricks made of china clay and finished with glaze or enamel on the outer surface.
 They are used for providing sanitary finishes on walls and the places where hygienic condition and
washable surfaces are necessary.
 They are very costly bricks.

B. Stones

a). Granite

 These are hard and natural stones. They may be black in colour or light Grey.
 They are durable and weather resistance and are commonly used for the construction of walls and
floors in animal buildings.
 The surface should be of roughened periodically by chipping.

b). Whin stones

 They are also hard rocks but not so durable and weather resistant as granites.
 They are used for wall constructions and broken stones are uses as a common ingredient of cement
concrete.

c). Sand stones

 These are immature rocks of recent formation. They are not strong and durable and not used in
heavy constructions.
 They are capable of being dressed into different shapes and patterns. Hence, they are used for
architectural works.

C. Binding Materials
a. Lime

 It is prepared form limestone, which are heated and slacked with water.
 The white power that is produced is called lime.

b. Lime mortar

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
 It is prepared by mixing one part of lime with three parts of pure sand adding sufficient quantity of
water.

c. Cement

o It is prepared from 70% chalk and 30% clay, which is mixed with water to form a creamy fluid.
o It is allowed to settle and then the sediment is collected dried and roasted over kiln and ground into
fine powder.
o It is greyish and bluish Grey in colour. It is an efficient binding material used for building bricks, stones
and other materials.

d. Cement mortar

o Cement and sand in 1:3 ratios.

e. Cement concrete mixture

Contents Quantity
Broken granite stones 4 parts
Sand 2 parts
Cement 1 part
Water quantity sufficient

3. Roof
 Roof is provided for the purpose of protecting animals from hot sun and rain. It also protects the
internal structures.
 It should be of simple type. Cheap materials have to be used for animal buildings.
 One of the essential qualities required for roof material in tropical condition is to have high insulation
value.
 In the absence of this, the roof has to be insulated.

A. Roof patterns
i). Lean to type roof

 These are simple roof with single slope adopted for shed type of buildings.
 Roof ventilation cannot be provided in this pattern.
 In this type of roof one wall is higher than another one to give necessary slope for roof. It is suitable
for maximum span of 2-4 meter.

ii). Gable roof

 These are coupled roof with two slopes, roof ventilation can be provided in this pattern the form of
continuous ridge opening protected by louvre board.

iii). Monitor roof

 The roof has two slopes, but one overlaps other at the ridge of the roof with a ventilation gap of one
feet.
 In this roof ventilation can be provided in between two slopes.
 This also suitable for tropical buildings and it serves the purposes of ventilating and lighting the
building.

iv). Semi monitor roof

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING

 Roof has 2 slopes but one overlap the other at the ridge of roof with ventilating gap of 1 feet.

v). Gothic arch

 This is an arched roof providing greater roof space used for store houses.
 Used for storage of feed.

B. Roofing materials
 Different materials are used as roof covering. Careful selection of material is essential in tropical
building to prevent the solar radiation.
 It is preferable to have material with low conductivity of heat. The commonly used roof materials
are,

i. Tiles

 They are cheap and easily available in most of the places. It conducts heat rapidly. Hence it is
suitable for hot climate.
 Wind or accident easily damages them. It has to be renewed periodically. There are two types of tiles.

a). Pan tiles or Mangalore tiles :

 These are rectangular tiles with grooves on

outer surface and two nibs on the inner surface.
They are lied one at the side of the other to cover
the roof.

b). Country tiles :

 These are semi-circular tiles of different shape

and dimensions.
 They are used by keeping one over other in
layers forming numerous air pockets, they
conduct less heat.

ii. Asbestos sheet

 These are commonly used in poultry buildings.

 Asbestos sheets are prepared by mixing cement mixture
with varying quantities of vegetable fibers.
 They are available as sheets of different dimensions with
corrugated surfaces
 Sheets are easily fixed to roof trusses and more durable
than tiles. But the houses under this roof will be hotter
during summer.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
iii. Aluminum Sheets

 Corrugated aluminum sheets of different thickness and

dimensions are available in the market as roof coverings.
 They are 2 ½ feet width and varying length from 8 to 12
feet. They are very light and can be easily fixed.
 The bright and polished surface of new sheets provides a
reflective insulation and keeps the animal houses cool
during summer.
 They are expensive but have a greater resale value. They
are rust proof and therefore they are more durable.

C. Thatched Roof

 This roof is made of either coconut or Palmyra leaves. Sometimes hay

and straw are used as roof coverings. They are cheap and poor
conductors of heat.
 They keep the house cool in summer. They are non-durable and has to
be removed yearly or once in two year. They are very prone for fire
accident.

D. Galvanized iron sheets

 These are iron sheets, which are galvanized on the surface and provided with corrugation. They are
available in standard dimension of 6 feet x 3 feet.
 Galvanized sheets are commonly used in animal houses but this sheet keeps the house very hot
during summer.
 It is suggested that sheet should be painted white on outer side to avoid absorption of heat. They
are strong and may be rusted after long use.

4. Construction of floor

 Floor is the important part of the building. Floor is the one, which is frequently used by animals for
various purposes as resting, movement, feeding and milking etc.
 So the floor must have all the qualities, which are required to meet the purpose.
 It must be strong as durable to withstand the weight to hard roof of the building and movement of
hard hoof of the animals. Durability is also required for economical point of view.
 Flooring must facilitate hygienic feeding and effective removal of waste product both liquid and solid.
 The floor should be laid on solid and compact foundation. It should have a gradient of 1/60 from
manger to the rear dung channel.
 Non slippery quality is needed to avoid accident slipping especially in case of large animals.
 Grooves and roughened surface should be provided.

a. Floor materials

 Different materials are used for animal house flooring. The choice depends on availability, cost and
other quality required for the animal houses.
 Cement concrete floor

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
 Vitrified paving bricks
 Stones
 Building bricks
 Gravel

i). Cement concrete floor

 This is a common material used in animal house. It is cheap and durable floor if properly
constructed.
 In tropical condition, it provides the required cool condition for the animals.
 Groove and rough surface are to be provided for preventing accident.

ii). Building bricks

 They are sometimes used as a flooring material. They are not good floor materials. They
absorb water and are easily worn out.
 They are set on edges closely and packed with good quality of cement.

iii). Vitrified paving bricks

 These are hard impervious bricks with grooves on the surface.

 It is an ideal flooring for animals because of durability and damp proof condition.
 The bricks are set over the bottom and a cushion of sand. The joints are coated with cement
mortar.

iv). Stones

 Granite stones are used in place where they are easily available. They are made into a block.
 The floor surface is roughened and laid over a cushion of sand. It is durable and strong and
cheap.

v). Gravel

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING
 Fine quality of gravel can be used as cheap quality flooring materials. It absorbs water and
worn out quickly.
 Periodical repair and maintenance is required. During disease outbreak disinfection is not
possible with this type of flooring.
 Lime dressing and smearing of cow dung mixture will help in proper maintenance of floor.
This floor will be sufficient for sheep and goat.

b. Design of floor

i). Solid floor

 It is a common floor with solid surface made out of different materials such as cement concrete,
vitrified paving brick, building brick, stones and gravel.
 Such solid floors should be laid properly for good drainage.
 A slope of 1/40 to 1/60 is desirable towards the dung channel.
 Even surface with impervious quality is necessary to prevent
 water stagnation. Proper cleaning and disinfection are essential to control diseases.

ii). Deep litter floor

 It is made of bedding material as dried layers.

 Straw, paddy husk, saw dust groundnut hulls, dried leaves are spread on the floor used as litter
materials.
 It can be spread as layer of 4-6 inches thickness and can be allowed to accumulate over a period
of a month to 1 year.
 The litter get mixed with excreta and decomposed.
 The dried litter materials absorb the moisture. Hence bacterial activity is controlled.
 Excessive bacterial action in the deep litter is kept controlled by addition of lime.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND ENGINEERING

Comprehension check

Name:

I. True or False

Direction: Write T if the state is correct and F if the statement is false. Write your answer on the
space provided before each number.

1. Soil is important for string foundation such as sandy and rocks soil.

2. Before construction of any housing project, water source is not required.

3. Electricity is least to be considered when constructing farm structure.

4. Noise is found to not affect the animal production.

5. Any shape of roof of a building is suitable to all classes of livestock.

6. Monitor roof is suitable for building with smaller width.

7. Length of the building may vary depends upon the number of animals housed.

8. Quarantine shed should be located at the entrance of the farm

9. Isolation shed should be located away from the healthy animal shed.

10. Shallower foundation is necessary in loose and shallow in firm rocky soil.

II. Discussion
1. Enumerate and discuss preparation of housing plan
2. Enumerate and discuss factors to be considered while designing a livestock farm

Enrichment Activity

With the aid of sketches, present a plan and elevations of a simple rural farm building. Include
the material to be used and bill of quantities (the bill of quantities contains a list of all building
materials required and is necessary to make a detailed cost estimate and a delivery plan)

Detach this paper from your module

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