In most parts of the U.S., winter brings cold weather, including dangerous wind chills. Winterizing your barns is an important step in preparing for the colder climate. This preparation includes finding and preventing sources of unwanted drafts; however, your barn should never be fully airtight.

We’ll explain why proper winter barn ventilation is important and how you can ensure your barn has the airflow it needs to provide a healthy, safe environment for your animals.

The Importance of Barn Ventilation

During the colder months, livestock often spend more time inside of the barn. If you’ve properly winterized your barn, then you’ve prevented unwanted air infiltration. While this gives you better control over the climate of your barn, it also means you have to be even more careful with ventilation and airflow.

The animals inside of your barn generate heat, moisture, and ammonia. In addition, warmer dry air from heaters will more easily circulate dust and other indoor pollutants or pathogens. It’s critical that a proper amount of indoor/outdoor air exchange is occurring in order to provide clean air.

Ventilation Tips

Understanding the importance of ventilation, here are several tips to help you provide clean air for your barn during the winter.

Minimize Dust & Maintain Cleanliness

With your livestock spending more time indoors through the winter, keeping the barn clean is a top priority. First, be sure to have a cleaning and maintenance plan firmly established. Creating a specific, measurable routine is a key to success. Some of the daily tasks you should consider in your plan include:

●Cleaning of pens, stalls, and removal of soiled bedding

●Removal of any accumulated animal waste

●Inspection of automated manure scraper systems when applicable

●Cleaning debris from ventilation inlets and any active fans

Keeping a clean barn can alleviate many potential health problems that arise from excessive moisture, debris, and harmful pathogens.

Maintain Positive Pressure Ventilation

There are three types of indoor air pressure that can be maintained via ventilation: negative, neutral, and positive pressure.

In the simplest terms, negative pressure is created when more air is pulled out of the barn (via exhaust fans) than air pulled into the barn. Positive pressure is the opposite: more air is pulled into the barn than air that is exhausted out.

A positive air pressure ventilation system, when maintained properly, will not create cooling drafts. Instead, a positive pressure system will evenly distribute fresh air throughout the barn. In turn, this helps prevent air stagnation, which can lead to dust accumulation and harbor pathogens.

Barns can often be retrofitted with an active ventilation system that creates positive air pressure; however, this may not be achievable in every circumstance. If you are planning to update your current livestock barn or build a new one, be sure to design it around the ideal ventilation for your climate.

Prevent Condensation

Condensation occurs when warm air meets cooler air or a cooler surface. Adequate winter ventilation and removal of animal waste will dramatically minimize condensation inside of the barn, but it’s also important to keep indoor temperatures within thresholds relative to outdoor temperatures when possible.

If the livestock inside of the barn can tolerate it, maintain the interior temperature at no more than 5-10°F higher than outside temperatures. Additionally, installing new barn insulation will add a buffer layer between the inside and outside of the barn, allowing for a greater temperature difference.

Regularly Inspect Equipment & Ventilation

Lastly, always be sure to inspect ventilation equipment. Check that any inactive inlets, vents, fans, or exhaust tunnels remain properly covered. In addition, regularly inspect and ductwork and heating equipment.

Ensuring your barn’s heating and ventilation systems should begin well in advance of the winter months and be continued throughout the season. This can help you catch a small issue before it becomes a bigger problem.

Barn Ventilation Systems & Supplies At Farmer Boy

Whether you need to purchase a few replacement parts for your barn’s fans or want to install a new ventilation system, Farmer Boy is a trusted agricultural supplier.

We have a large selection of everything you need to properly winterize your barn and keep your ventilation system running smoothly. Shop our selection of ventilation systems, parts, and accessories to find everything you need to prepare your barn for winter!

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