After a Flood: Salvaging Flood-damaged Buildings

Buildings that have been exposed to flood wa¬ters need to be evaluated for the extent of damage and the amount of cleanup and repairs necessary to restore them to a useable condition. The first thing to do with a building that has survived a flood is to check its structural strength. If the building has been moved, shifted, or twisted, it may not be safe to enter. Check the foundation, sill, plate, roof supports, and walls for damage. If there is extensive damage to the building, it probably will be less expensive to tear it down and start again with a new building as compared to attempting to repair the damaged structure. A “rule of thumb” is that if it costs over 60% to repair and restore, then it is usually best to build new

After a Flood: Engine and Machine Renovation

After an engine has been immersed in water for a period of time, such as occurs in a flood or dropping in a lakes situation, it usually can be salvaged. It will need to be cared for immediately, however. If an engine is not cleaned, rusting can occur and the soil particles suspended in the water and deposited on the equipment can cause rapid and excessive wear of bearings and engine parts if the machine is operated

Grain Drying Guidelines for a Wet Fall Harvest

A high-moisture-content harvest can result when crops mature late, an early freeze occurs, or fall weather conditions are wet. Higher moisture contents at harvest generally mean more fines and broken corn, more difficult conveying, slower drying, and A high-moisture-content harvest can result when crops mature late, an early freeze occurs, or fall weather conditions are wet. Higher moisture contents at harvest generally mean more fines and broken corn, more difficult conveying, slower drying, and higher fuel consumption. Field drying diminishes significantly as the weather cools and essentially stops by mid to late November. When deciding whether to delay harvest to save fuel, consider that an increase of about 2% in field losses is equal to the cost of the extra fuel needed to dry wet corn from 25% to 20% moisture

Harvesting and Ensiling High-Moisture Crops

An early fall and/or a short growing season can mean some hard decisions regarding the harvest, storage, and use of corn, sorghum, and soybean crops. The first damaging frost date will be the key to the harvest and storage method. It will be much easier if you plan for alternate methods prior to the frost date so that the crop can be harvested with the most efficient method for the respective operation

Plastic Curtain Wall Use for Barn Venting

Barn ventilation systems using gravity (natural) airflow that enters through wall openings and goes out top ridge vents have been used a long time in swine, dairy, beef, and poultry barns (Figure 1). A comparatively new development is to use a plastic curtain, adjustable up and down, for the full height and length of each wall, particularly in dairy barns. This ventilation system is being adapted in northern states after many years use in poultry barns in the southeastern United States