Construction of Farm Structures

Involves:

Planning for farm structures ;

Consider;

Farm activities.

Size of the enterprise.

Future of the enterprise.

Accessibility.

Soil type.

Siting farm structures;

Consider:

The location of the homestead.

Accessibility.

Security.

Drainage/topography.

Wind direction.

Relationship between the structures.

Proximity to social amenities.

Farmer's taste and preference.

Materials for Construction

Structural Materials and Use

Factors which determine the type of materials to use are;

durability,

strength,

labour,

availability,

workability,

serviceability,

cost sanitation.

Stones and Bricks

Advantages

Stones and bricks are durable, easy to disinfect, resistant to weather and insects decay and are easily available.

Disadvantages

They are bulky and require skilled labour to make them.

Plastic and Synthetic Materials

These include;

glass,

asbestos fibre

polythene materials.

Advantages

Light,

cheep depending on quality,

easy to disinfect,

can be moulded into any shape,

are durable,

cannot be destroyed by insects and fungus

are water-proof.

Disadvantages

Are easily destroyed, fragile,

very expensive require skilled labour.

Wood (Timber)

Advantages

They are workable, cheap,

can be re-used are fairly strong.

Disadvantages

They can catch fire easily, decay if exposed to water

are affected by fungus and insects.

Concrete

Is a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate and water

e.g. in making blocks the ratio is 1:2:3; one part cement, two parts sand and three parts aggregate.

Uses

Making posts for fencing.

Making walls and floor of buildings.

Making gabions and water channels to prevent erosion.

Making water troughs.

Advantages

These materials are; durable, workable, easy to disinfect, cheap to maintain, fire resistant

Disadvantages

These materials are ; expensive,

require skilled labour, bulky,

cannot be reused

Animal handling structures

The crush –used when doing following activities;

• Spraying livestock to control ticks,

• milking,

• examining sick animals,

• artificial insemination,

• treating animals, eg drenching, vaccination,

• dong routine jobs such as dehorning, identification marks,

The spray race-used in the control of ticks by spraying livestock with acaricides

The dip- machakos type, and the pludge dip. This is used in the control of ticks by dipping livestock