b'YOUR TOOLKIT FOR BUILDING EXCELLENCE2009 Building Failurephoto submitted by Dwayne Bundy9 degrees below normal, low temperature averagedeveloped after receiving input from technical was 13 degrees below normal.The area had onlycommittee members of both the WFBA and the two days above freezing in this stretch, February 3rdNational Frame Building Association (NFBA), and and 4th.On March 12th the area had 1.1 inches ofdistributed to farmers in Wisconsin through UW-rain adding weight to snow-covered roofs.(NOAA,Madison Division of Extension Agricultural Agents Lock and Dam #4; Alma, WI)More than 100 farmand through state media outlets.structures failed in Buffalo County from MarchWhat has been learned so far:12th to April 15th with an estimated financial loss of more than $10,000,000.(STORM Disaster Reports,1.Insurance coverage for farm structures is much Buffalo County Farm Service Agency)The damagebetter in 2019 than in 2010.It appears that 2010 also spread beyond the county throughout the middlewas a bit of a wakeup call for farmers.Many 1/3 of the state and had a severe economic and socialstructures were not insured for snow load or were impact on farmers in the region. under insured (contents in the buildings may not Objectives of Study: have been insured) in 2010.Of the respondents in 2019/2020, only three structures were not a.Determine the number of farms that experiencedcovered for snow load failures and these were losses from farm building failures due to snowolder facilities (built before 1970).load. 2.Age of the facility was not an overriding factor b.To determine the financial loss to farmersin building failures.This is especially evident in associated with farm building failures byLivestock Facilities.Five of the livestock facilities comparing total financial loss with amount ofreported were built in 2009 or later.(See Figure financial loss covered by insurance. 1 and Table 1)c.To assess the long-term durability of building materials in enclosed livestock environments (orBuilding Failures Surveyed to datehigh moisture environments?). Categorized by Age and Use of the Failed Buildingd.Determine common characteristics of farm10 9buildings failures and identify focus areas to8 7reduce failures in current and future projects.6 5Response: 4 3I met with the Wisconsin Frame Builders Association2 2 1 2 2Technical committee and started discussions with0Aaron Halberg of Halberg Engineering on what we0needed to learn and what should be done to addressDairy Freestall Facility Other Livestock Facility Machinery Storagethe problem and prevent future failures.It becameLess than 20 Yrs 20 to 30 yrs More than 30 yrsevident that information as to the extent of theFigure 1: Age of Farm Structures reported in the problem was lacking, as was basic information on2019-20 Surveythe characteristics of buildings that fail.A survey was continued on page: 20 FRAME BUILDER - JUN2021 / 19'