Portable Windbreak Makes Working Cattle Easier

Portable Windbreak Makes Working Cattle Easier FENCING Fence Systems With a 220-cow herd John McDonald knows how difficult working cattle can be It’s one reason he designed and marketed his portable corrals Vol 28 No 5 Now he’s created and is marketing a portable windbreak that can be used with or without his corral systems “When I invented my portable corral nearly 23 years ago my priorities were strong and useable ” recalls McDonald “My windbreak came about because of those corrals Customers asked me to put plywood sheets on my corrals so they could use them as windbreaks I decided to try ” What he came up with far exceeded plywood sheets McDonald recognized that his windbreak would need to be stable and like his corrals require minimal labor to set up or break down “I looked at portable windbreaks on the market ” he says “They were panels that had to be picked up stacked on trailers and tied down They required labor and skid loaders ” The Rawhide portable windbreak comes in two models One is 150 linear ft with three 8 by 24-ft panels to a side The 200-linear ft model has six panels Both are carried on a trailer with a gooseneck hitch at one end and torsion axle suspension at the other It can handle both highway speeds and rough pastures Both models can be equipped with a built-in 19 by 24-ft loafing shed roof In transit the roof folds down over the folded-up panels While the roof is optional McDonald says it’s ordered with most windbreaks When the trailer is pulled into place the roof halves are raised hydraulically and the connected panels are lowered to the ground The operator rolls them out and away from the trailer on double solid rubber wheels The trailer remains on the leeward side of the panels Panels must be porous to properly break the wind allowing some wind through Each Rawhide Portable Corral panel has a lateral 5-in slot midway top to bottom Spaces at hinge points between panels also allow wind through as does the wheel height space below the panels Each panel is perimeter framed and cross framed with 14-gauge 2 by 2-in square tubing The ridged skin on the panels is 16-gauge steel siding Panels are held in place by 8-ft braces mounted to the vertical frame member above the wheels Braces are designed to be chained to screw anchors drilled into the ground A built-in electric-over-hydraulic system provides hydraulic power It comes complete with a 20-watt solar panel to charge the deep-cycle batteries An inverter supplies 110-volt AC for the charger and the cordless drill used to sink anchors “We advise placing the braces away from prevailing winds and we want the anchors used in case the wind direction changes ” says McDonald “We include the drill designed for planting trees in the package because if it isn’t there people aren’t as likely to use the anchors ” The windbreak has shown it can handle strong winds “With 50 to 60 mph winds the end panel has whipped around in a way that changed shape but the windbreak stayed in place ” says McDonald “We had a 35-mph wind and set out flags on the opposite side of the wind They were 10 to 15 ft from the panels and at the height of the lateral slots and never moved ” While he expected his portable windbreak to be popular with rotational grazing operations it’s also proven popular with traditional open-range systems “Customers will rotate the windbreaks with the cattle as they move to fresh grass ” says McDonald “We designed it to be moved but we have guys set them up by their buildings and keep them there They’re ideal for cattlemen leasing places where they winter cattle If they lose the lease they can take the windbreak with them ” The six-panel Rawhide Portable Windbreak with roof panels is priced at $28 000 and the eight-panel model with roof is priced at $32 000 For an additional $8 000 the windbreak is available with a calving option that includes a headgate maternity alley and post-calving pen Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rawhide Portable Corral Inc 900 N Washington St Abilene Kan 67410 ph 785-263-3436; www rawhideportablecorral com

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