The Rural Voice, 1980-11, Page 11should also be in perfect condition. Bent
shutters do not allow the air to circulate.
The lighting in the barn is also abused.
Dusty bulbs lower the lighting level and
cause more lights to be required. Do you
really need a 100 watt bulb? Reduce the
watts and keep the heatlamps clean as
well. Turn off the lights when not needed.
"Be sure supplement heat is not over.
used in the barns. Thermostats should be
set at the required temperatures. and
remember dusty thermostats do not
operate efficiently." Jack Underwood
advised.
Better use of manure is essential.
Manure is better handled stored for 12
months before being spread on the land.
The manure must be plowed under
within 24 hours or the nitrogen is lost.
Soil tests help to show what nutrients are
already in the soil and how much fertilizer
is needed. This saves on over -fertilizing
and on energy and the cost factor.
"To help save energy while drying
corn, the corn could be removed while hot
and placed into another bin at 18 per cent
moisture and be aerated until cooled.
This would bring the moisture level down
to an additional two per cent less." said
Jack Underwood. "Heating the air that is
going into the dryer can also cut the costs
of drying corn."
"Other ways are being used to dry
corn. The burning of grain residue and
bales of straw can be used but as yet are
not widely used. Corn cobs gathered from
the fields can also be used as a source of
heat." said Helmut Spieser.
"Corn cribs could be used more. The
handling of the cobs in the past involved
shovelling. But new ideas are becoming
available every day" said Jack
Underwood.
Windbreaks, once common around
farms, are also energy -savers. However,
if windbreaks are getting too tall to
shelter buildings, if tree limbs are high,
and other trees dead, then perhaps a new
windbreak should be planted.
The trees should be planted about 60
feet from the buildings needing pro-
tection. In the summer, the trees could
cool the winds a degree or two which
would help inside the barns. Snow
removal is easier if a windbreak is in
place. It also breaks the strong cold winds
and helps lessen heat loss in the
buildings.
Making improvements and changes on
the farm takes up time and energy
farmers don't always have. But if done in
stages, the savings in both costs and
energy should make the effort worth-
while.
These are just a few ideas for more
efficient. less costly farming. If we all
take a hard look at our operations, likely
improvements can be made.
A builder of barns
Willy Ke/ler keeps his eye on building energy efficient barns
BY HERB SHOVELLER
Nature's cyclic process is no secret,
and the possibilities in harnessing her
techniques have not escaped the energy
conscious eye of Willy Keller.
Mr. Keller is a PArth county pork
producer who lives just south of Mitchell.
He shares the name Brandy Point
Perth pork producer Willy Keller has been concerned about construction energy
efficient barns for several years. The Durisol bricks [above] are the material he and his
son are using to build a new barn on his son's property. With the addition of a
styrofoam lining [brick on the left] the barn's R -value increases. [Photo by Shoveller]
Farms with his son Kurt, another pork
producer, who lives a short drive away.
Mr. Keller had been concerned about
energy efficient barns for a long time
before cutbacks, price hikes and
impending shortages made energy a
national issue. He built his first barn
about 20 years ago and since then he has
built or helped build three others, each
with an eye to energy conservation.
"The whole thing is what 1 picked up
from a Pork Congress a few years back,"
he said, "There was a speaker there from
the States. What he said was because
there's going to be an energy shortage
we're going to have to look to the future
and build barns that can utilize and adapt
to different sources of energy." Willie
Keller looked ahead.
Currently he is helping son Kurt
construct his second hog barn in two
years. This new one, like the other, is
made from a product known as Durisol.
The unique product is produced by a firm
in Mitchell.
Durisol bricks are made with wood
chips and sawdust, and once formed into
a solid brick they are not unlike papier
mache in aPpearance. The interior is
hollow, and divided into two sections
similar to cement blocks. One side of the
interior hollow is designed to hold a piece
THE RURAL VOICE/NOVEMBER 1980 PG 9