Working Ranch April/May 2025

When you are an agricultural producer you know that time is money; when you can efficiently use your time, your wallet will benefit from it. Perhaps the most important part of any structure is the foundation. You must have your site ready with appro priate concrete pad or site dimen sions. The good news is that you can obtain the specifications and site plans from the prefab barn company so your contractor can review them to create the appropriate foundation. Another great point about pre fab barns is that you can better plan assembly around busy seasons on the farm or ranch, or as in Fascholtz’s case when the inevitable winter weather comes knocking at your door. With manufacturing taking place in a fac tory, many companies allow you to choose your own delivery time after completing your barn kit. This can be extremely helpful as you plan out

your projects around the homestead throughout the year. We can thank our pioneering ances tors for the concept of prefabricated barns. While the process of raising the barn wasn’t nearly as glamorous as the movies may make it seem, there is no doubt that fellowship was at the heart of the event. Even through the most laborious of tasks, they found ways to incorporate their commu nity and celebrate through the chal lenges they faced in forging a nation. Improvements continue to take place in almost every area of agriculture and these improvements are allow ing our agricultural producers to move into the future with confidence and peace of mind when taking on complicated projects. The process of assembling your prefabricated barn has been streamlined and simplified to keep all producers’ best interests and safety as the priority.

Because of his position at the Padlock Ranch of overseeing day-to-day oper ations and understanding the weather associated with living in colder states such as Wyoming, Fahsholtz is no stranger to knowing the importance of a well-constructed barn to protect commodities, livestock, or equipment. “The number one thing for me was that I couldn’t find anyone that would do it in a reasonable amount of time; all the contractors were busy, so I looked into prefab buildings. The barn came in on a semi-truck with all the pieces, everything was cut to specification, so they put the building up.” Fahsholtz said as he described his experience. KEEP IT SIMPLE A huge benefit of a prefabricated barn to the modern producer is that they now go up more simply and with less labor involved. Impressively enough, a crew of only four men is needed for most prefabbed structures and nor mally, you do not have to worry about providing the crew. Depending on which company you use, they will often have the manpower needed to assem ble the barns, allowing you to carry on business as usual. Most prefabricated barns are delivered as ‘barn kits’ with everything you will need to raise your barn. Should you choose to assemble your barn on your own, the company will provide you with an installation guide just like what would come with the swing set you ordered for your kids. It is recommended that you read these instructions even though you “didn’t need them” for the swing set. These manuals will have safety information and a complete list of tools and equip ment required for proper assembly. It will even give information about unloading and the preparation for your very own “barn raising.” For example, Fahsholtz enjoyed the simplicity of the assembly pro cess as he was able to continue with daily tasks while the crew completed the barn. While he could have used his own manpower to assemble the structure, he appreciated the option of having the company provide the crew.

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APRIL / MAY 2025 I 23