Why is Concrete so Important for Farmers?
The agricultural sector is one of the biggest users of concrete, not just in the UK but overseas as well. Cambridgeshire-based concrete suppliers Madmix explain the key reasons why farmers find the material so useful.
It’s So Durable
Farmers need to be able to use a construction material which is reliable and long-lasting. Concrete buildings can cope with many different uses and the wildest of weather conditions, lasting not just a lifetime but hundreds of years.
Concrete also requires comparatively little maintenance, which is useful for farmers who may not have the time or money to devote to ongoing repairs.
It’s So Versatile
A farm is a multi-purpose environment with a wide variety of commercial activities taking place at any one time. There are a lot of different concrete admixtures suitable for specific tasks – for instance, you would need a waterproof admixture for drainage and irrigation channels on the farm, whereas tracks, pathways and roads which need to bear the weight of heavy farm vehicles would require reinforced concrete.
It’s Fireproof and Safe
Concrete is classified as an inert material, which means it doesn’t react with other chemicals. It won’t catch fire, unlike wood, and even if something inside a concrete building does ignite, the flames shouldn’t spread very far. Concrete also doesn’t rust, unlike many metal building materials, and if you spill something on it, such as an agricultural fertiliser, there shouldn’t be any lasting damage. Another plus is that rats and vermin find it inedible, which discourages them from nesting inside.
All these factors are important for farmers who need to be sure that any valuable crops or animal feed won’t be damaged either by accidents or rodent invasions.
You Won’t Slip on It
Many farmyard areas have a lot of human and animal traffic as well as vehicle movements. If an employee or animal slips over and sustains injuries, this can be extremely costly and impact the smooth running of the farm. Any admixture can be made slip-resistant by roughening or brushing the final surface, rather than by making any alterations to the concrete mix itself.
Concrete can also cope with any de-icing materials you use, without compromising its structural integrity.
Madmix – Supplying Concrete for Farmyard Areas across Cambridgeshire
Madmix can supply concrete for all your farmyard areas in Cambridgeshire and the nearby region. If you need your concrete to be waterproof, then we can supply an admixture which is freeze-thaw resistant to avoid the problem of cracking and leaks over time. For areas used by heavy machinery our reinforced concrete is strengthened using polypropylene fibres, which helps to improve its water tightness and lessens the chance of any shrinkage or cracking.
All Madmix’s concrete is British Standards accredited, which means it has been extensively tested and meets both the BS EN 206 and BS 8500-2 standards. This means our concrete is guaranteed to be of high quality.
We supply agricultural concrete to customers in Ely, Melbourn, Huntingdon, Royston, St Ives and St Neots and other towns and villages in the Cambridgeshire region. If you would like to place an order, you can use our online concrete calculator by clicking here. Don’t worry if you order too much, as our delivery lorries will take away any excess at no extra cost.
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