Healthier cows and improved productivity with high-speed fresh air

Crooklands Farm is a dairy farm in Blencogo, England. The farm consists of 3 barns housing a total of 380 cows. After noticing that cows in one of the barns were gathering in one area during hot days, farm owner John Mann realised additional cooling was required. As a result, the staff installed Mulifan fans to provide the cows with a comfortable environment throughout the barn. We asked John Mann and Andrew Errington, Managing Director at Dalton Engineering about the selection and installation process and John’s experience with the fans so far.

The ventilation solution:

The dairy barn in which the cows are kept is 225 feet x 60 feet and houses 135 cows, producing around 29 liters of milk per cow per day. To find a suitable ventilation solution, Crooklands Farm consulted Dalton Engineering, a main UK dealer for Vostermans Ventilation in the poultry and dairy sector for over 10 years. Andrew: “The primary goal was to get the cows to lie down in their stalls. Before installing the fans, the cows were standing excessively and bunching up at the end of the shed where there was a prevailing wind. The shed lacked fresh air and high-speed air in the stalls, despite being in an area with plenty of wind. The air speed in the stalls in the center of the shed was 0 meters per second, and ammonia levels in the shed were high at five parts per million at cow level. Therefore, a solution that introduced high-speed fresh air was required.”

Choosing the fans:

The solution involved installing 2 x 140 cm (3 phase) Galvanized box fans mounted in the gable end wall of the shed and 10 x 3 phase 130 cm circulation fans (Basket fans) to direct and accelerate the fresh air down into the stalls. Andrew: “The target airspeed was 2+ meters per second at cow height to provide cooling and increase cow lying times. Variable speed using a digital climate controller was required to provide year-round ventilation, which also provided energy savings by allowing the fans to operate at less than 100% of their capacity. Energy efficiency and fan noise were crucial factors in fan selection, and fresh air injection into the building was required all year round and not just during warm weather. “

Installation Process:

Although this was the first time the farm staff installed fans for this purpose, the installation process went smoothly. John explains: “We installed the fans ourselves and my electrician wired them up without any issues. Dalton Engineering were very helpful during the process". 

Results

The situation in the barns was getting worse with the increasingly hot summers, but with the help of the new fans, the situation has improved significantly. John elaborates:“The cows no longer bunched up in the barn, the fertility of the cows is not affected and the barn is cooler.” The performance of the fans in cooling the cattle during the warmer periods has been good. While the fans had been recently installed, John noticed a positive change in the milk production and is satisfied with the overall results.