| 73 nzdairy ON FARM » Jane O’Neill Staff member James putting in cups. New dairy shed built to make life easier Rosa Watson When Taranaki dairy farmer Jane O’Neill needed a new dairy shed and effluent system that would be affordable, well-designed and look great, Fabish & Jackson were the team for the job. Having been referred to the construction firm by a farm advisor, the brief she gave owner Steve Fabish in late 2020 was a shed that was built to last 40 years. With a strong reputation around Taranaki, particularly with cow shed construction, Jane had no hesitation entrusting the firm to go away and draw something up. “After getting everything organised she wanted us to manage the contract and supervise all subtrades on the job,” Steve told NZ Dairy. It was decided that a 60-cow rotary would be built with a rectangular yard. Jane had also requested that the tanker track had a view of a sleek shed, not interrupted by things like machinery and feed bins. Jane employs a 50/50 sharemilker on the 365ha property with a herd of 1000 cows. Share-milker Dave England was keen to help project manage the build, having been an engineer prior to farming. The build started in April 2021 on a flat green site. Three hundred truckloads of clay were needed to build up the sloping 600 cow yard area. The clay was left to settle and construction started in September 2021. The 60-bale rotary shed is a Fabish & Jackson Octa-lock dairy that allows for tailored additional rooms, including a large storage room, generator room, vet room, shower and toilet, and a communal office space and kitchen. The underpass was installed to allow staff to walk into the centre of the pit. A Waikato plant and platform with cup removers, retainer arms and automatic teat sprayers was chosen, and Afi milk meters, weigh scale and drafter were installed. The interior paint work is a Mural Flex high build acrylic with solid glaze that was easy to keep clean and looking great. There is a partially covered yard where the head bail is located, keeping that area out of the weather and making things more comfortable for staff. The effluent system meets all council requirements with two 45m by 7m concrete weeping wall bunkers designed to have one fill while the other dries out. The 54m by 54m holding pond has the capacity to hold 8 million litres, and the green water is irrigated to a 55ha effluent block or recycled to use as the flood wash. Steve said the biggest challenge was the foundation under the platform. “We ended up having to drive 8m poles to get solid bearing.” Weather also caused delays to the project, he said. “But Jane was very good to work with (and) she knew what she wanted. She understood the problems it had.” It all came together in the end, and once solutions were found, the whole project took about seven months to complete. “It finished on time for her to start milking. That was the main thing.” Free Quotes Stratford - 06 765 4094 Jason - 027 413 1225 bunnearthmoving@xtra.co.nz Bunn Earthmoving With well over 20 machines, we have the right one for the job Logging crews, all Metal aggregates, Diggers, Bulldozers, Trucks and Transporter. All work 100% guaranteed. Specialists in all Earthmoving, Logging, Lined ponds and Quarry work The job had gone “extremely well”, he said. “It was a fairly large project because it had a fairly large holding pen. Once side feeds the holding pen and the other side feeds the races. It works very well. “They’re very pleased with the way the shed works. Everything they wanted was put in and it works very well.”
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