Crystal Creek

Crystal Creek® is proud to present Jessica Getschel and Dr. Ryan Leiterman’s recent article published in the Progressive Dairyman Magazine.

Progressive Dairyman will be featuring three of Jessica Getschel’s articles on calf barn ventilation this year.  Jessica is a livestock nutritionist and ventilation specialist at Crystal Creek® and holds a bachelor of science degree from University Wisconsin Madison in Dairy Science and Microbiology.

ARTICLE #1

Key Design Features To Consider Before Building A New Calf Barn

Click here to view as a pdf:  Key design features to consider before building a new calf barn

By Jessica Getschel, B.S.

Proper barn planning saves time and money. For every decision, it is important to understand its associated ramifications. In calf barns, housing style and pen configuration decisions impact ventilation options, which in turn affects the overall success of the barn. Before building a calf barn, think about the ventilation requirements for every season. Allocate at least 10 percent of the overall building cost for the purchase of a well thought out ventilation system and ask these three questions as you consider your ventilation options:

• Will the system deliver a consistent source of fresh air into the barn during all seasons?
• Will the system effectively control the airspeed at calf level?
• Can the ventilation system rapidly adjust to the changing weather conditions of spring and fall when there are warm days and cool nights?

Read More →