Cost Key When Deciding Whether to Renovate or Build from Scratch

Aug 22, 2017

By Bruce Cochrane.

A Farm Building Consultant with FGC Construction says cost is one of the biggest factors influencing the decisions of pork producers considering the move to group sow housing.

"Building New or Renovation: What's to Consider" will be among the topics discussed as part of a Group Sow Housing Seminar planned for September 12 in Winnipeg and September 13 in Strathmore.

Murray Elliott, a Farm Building Consultant with FGC Construction, says, as we approach the Canadian Pig Code of Practice 2024 deadline for moving to group sow housing and as buildings age, pork producers are weighing their options.

Murray Elliott-FGC Construction:

Building from scratch certainly is a huge advantage in that your new building is exactly what you want it to be.

You get to incorporate all your new ideas, all your increased farrowing days, weaning days, the code, the extra square footage and you get to put in a nice neat package.

The down side is the cost tends to be higher than a renovation.

If you have a facility and it's in good shape there's certainly some value there that's often possible to salvage so the advantage of a renovation is reduced cost and salvaging your existing facility.
The state of the current building is critical.

You have to have a good hard look at the deficiencies of your current building.

You need to look at pits, at perimeter walls, at floors, slats, attic spaces, rooves.

You have to have a very critical look at your existing facility to determine how much value is left in that building.

Elliot notes permitting is also a consideration.

He says building from scratch starts the permitting process from scratch so all of the new codes and new restrictions apply where as with renovations many aspects are grandfathered in so that something to consider before making any decisions.

Source: Farmscape

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.