Better Late Than Never

Normally, in a building project, the first thing that is done after determining where your structure is going to be built is to haul dirt in and build the pad upon which the building will sit.  In building our barn, we went against conventional wisdom and erected our barn without bringing in dirt and building a pad.  I guess after milking in the open air in wind, rain, heat and cold for quite a while, we wanted to put up the barn quickly and omitted raising the level under the structure.  Hasty decisions are often poor ones, as I've come to learn.

Over the years, the hay/sawdust bedding we laid down in the barn, composted and raised the ground level.  In fact, it worked fine without dirt - until this year.  Above average rainfall amounts in the first five months of the year contributed to a very muddy barnyard area.  While the inside of the barn itself was high and dry due to the composted bedding, the area all around the barn was a muddy mess.  The cows and goat had to slog through ankle-deep mud to get to the barn.  It was a nasty mess for us too. The mud, on more than one occasion, caused our boots to stick and we stepped out of our boots in our sock-feet, wetting our socks.

As soon as the ground dried up, I had a load of fill-sand delivered to the house.  As it was still too wet around the barn to use a tractor to move the dirt, we did it the hard way - loading container after container with dirt by shovel, pulling the wagon to the barn, dumping it over and spreading it around the entire outer perimeter of the barn.

The Dirt Pile

It was high time (pardon the pun), to raise the ground level around the barn.  After a light rain, the dirt seemed to pack hard.  Because there was some clay in the pile, it was a little sticky, but there was a hard base as opposed to the ankle deep quicksand that was there previously.  You can view the built-up area around the north and west sides of the barn, providing a raised walkway and impeding rising water from entering the barn.

Raising the ground level around the barn

On the side of the barn with the gate, I raised the ground level about 8 feet out from the barn, providing firm footing for the animals coming inside for milking.  As with anything new, the animals were a little reluctant to walk on the dirt, wary of the change.  We stomped down the large 'clods' until they were compressed and are generally happy with the change.

Annie inspecting the new dirt pad

This shot gives you a "chicken's eye" perspective and I would estimate that the soil level was raised by about 4 or 5 inches around the outside of the barn and that should keep out the flowing rainwater that runs through the property during heavy rains.

We'll have to hold judgment until we get a big 'gully-washer to see if we'll need another load of dirt or not.  Regardless, it is much better than it was before.  If we ever have another construction project, we'll make sure to build a dirt pad at a sufficient height, especially if building at the lowest part of the property.