| Buildings
Keeping pigs in their
comfort zone TV success for
Roundhouse and S&A
A new method of comparing the environmental
performance of pig houses has been devised by
Staffordshire-based ARM Buildings. For those of us who watched the Channel 5 series
“Springtime on the Farm” it wasn’t difficult to see that the
lambing shed at Cannonhall Farm, who hosted the show,
was in fact a Roundhouse.
sing an
environmental
monitoring system
and employing the
parameter of +/- 3
deg C of the set
temperature – termed the ‘comfort
zone’ – has enabled the company
to compare similar buildings on
different farms, old buildings with
new and those of varying designs.
The company has produced
some remarkable figures involving
over 130,000 weaner-growers and
a similar number of finishing pigs
in controlled-environment houses
over a five-year period. These will
be available to pig producers at
the British Pig and Poultry Fair on
the ARM stand (no 63).
“The figures show that the
‘comfort zone’ has been retained
for an average of 95 per cent of
the time, both in summer and
winter, though there have been
interesting variations between old
buildings and new and the way
they have been managed,” said
Tim Miller, ARM’s environment
U
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
specialist.
“As far as we know, no-one has
ever done this before,” he said.
“In a weaner building in cold
weather, for instance, we can see if
the temperature drops below 3
deg of the set temperature, which
may be an indication of a heating
failure. Similarly, in finishing sheds
in summer the temperature may
soar way beyond the set level and
this could show fans not working
or a poor level of insulation.
“Such cases warrant further
investigation. Farmers may claim
their pigs are doing well, but only
by monitoring can you really see
how a piggery is performing day-
in, day-out.”
Since July 2009, ARM Building
has been fitting data-loggers as
standard equipment to all their
new pig houses. These enable the
buildings’ performance to be
independently monitored though
Farmex’s Barn Report system. It is
believed to be the only company
doing so in the pig sector.
hat you probably
didn’t realise was
that the “studio”
where all the
visitors and
interviews
happened was one of seven S&A
buildings constructed on the site
in 2014.
The five one hour, live, shows
produced by Dasiybeck Studios,
who also produce The Yorkshire
Vet set up shop at Cannonhall
Farm, near Barnsley. The show
was presented by Countryfile
presenter and farmer Adam
Henson and Spring Watch
unsprung’s Lindsey Chapman as
well as former JLS star JB Gill –
who himself has taken up farming
– and actor Kelvin Fletcher who
played Andy Sugden on
Emmerdale for 20 years.
Focusing on the Nicholson
farming family at Cannonhall and
the stresses of lambing the show
proved a success for Channel 5’s
W
viewing figures and hopefully gave
the public at large a glimpse of
what life is like on the farm.
The Roundhouse at Cannonhall
is probably our most famous
building because as well as
hosting regional RIDBA events it’s
hosted hundreds of thousands of
visitors over the years as well as
Royalty. In 2017 Prince Edward
toured the farm and enjoyed his
visit to the Roundhouse and
ancillary S&A buildings used
throughout the farm.
July 2018 | Farming Monthly | 23