Winding down for Winter
Handy Maintenance Advice For The Winter Months
With the busy season now coming to a close and farms and small holdings winding down for Winter, we have highlighted what are the best ways to keep your machinery all tucked up and ready to get going again when the suns Springs up next year. Start the new season with a spring in your step, safe in the knowledge that all of those ‘can’t live without’ items are ready to go and have your land back to full productivity in the new year.
To help you further here are, what we believe, the five most important steps to take in order to properly wind down for Winter:
5 Tips To Prepare For Winter
1) Empty Tanks
Emptying slurry tanks. Ideas such as sand bedding can aid in protecting your slurry tank for the winter months.
2) Clean Housing
Clean out animal housing thoroughly. Providing fresh bedding and ensuring all animal housing is cleaned out ready for the prolonged indoor period is a good idea. Now is also the perfect time to erect and repair any animal housing fences. Leaving jobs such as this until the colder months set in, could make the hard ground more difficult to work with.
3) Servicing & Maintenance
Service machines. Changing oil and tractor filters and servicing machinery is essential maintenance work. Thus should ideally be carried our before the frost sets in.
4) Machinery Parts
Parts. List the repairs which are needed and order suitable parts. For example extra blades for mowers or new locks for gates to ensure animals are effectively contained and gates do not fall foul of winter frost damage. Some small holders also choose to invest in a new part for their growing collection of machinery. A snow blade is used to clear ground or begin to level new ground in preparation for the spring months.
5) Storage
Storage housing. Storing feed, machinery and tools in effective housing for the winter is essential. Whether it’s water storage, pesticide housing or simply a great shed to put your mower. Ensuring everything is effectively put away for winter is essential if you want to avoid the problems which could occur after the frost melts.
Additional Information
It’s important to keep in mind guidance from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as well as ideas from those in the know. The guidance states that farmyard manure must not be applied between 31 October and 31 January. This is to ultimately protect water courses from pollution. This means that all farms are required to have at least 22 weeks manure storage for their livestock. It is important to keep regulations like this one in mind. Especially if it is your first Winter having to consider preparing for the closed season.
Our website has everything you need to maintain important machinery. Easy ordering, fast delivery and a knowledgeable team to help you find everything you need to help wind down for winter. Or takle a loo at