Farm races and tracks

A race is a drainage structure that happens to carry cows

Almost every failed race failed for the same reason: water sat on it. Once water gets into the base, traffic pumps the fines up, the metal works its way down, and you are left with a soft strip that potholes and turns to slop.

So the shape matters more than the metal. We build races with a proper crown so water sheds to the sides instead of running down the middle, with side drains and outfalls that actually take that water somewhere. Get the shape and the drainage right and a race lasts years on modest maintenance. Get it wrong and no amount of metal will save it.

Built for cows’ feet

Lame cows cost money, and the race surface is one of the biggest levers you have. Sharp, coarse or loose top metal bruises soles and causes white line damage, especially where cows are pushed or turn tightly.

We finish races with a well graded, compacted running surface rather than loose rock sitting on the top, and pay particular attention to the pinch points: gateways, corners, the approach to the shed and anywhere the mob bunches up. Those are the spots that cause most of the lameness.

How we build them

• Set out and pegging, including width and grade
• Topsoil and soft material stripped out of the formation
• Subgrade shaped, crowned and compacted
• Geotextile laid over soft or peaty ground where it is needed
• Base course placed in layers and compacted
• Running course placed and rolled to a comfortable surface
• Side drains, culverts and outfalls formed so water leaves the race
• Gateways, crossings and shed approaches built up

Tanker access and the wet months

A race is not just a stock lane. It has to carry a loaded milk tanker in August without rutting, and it has to give the tanker somewhere to turn. We build main races and tanker tracks to take that weight, with the width and the turning space to use them, and we make sure the approach to the shed is the strongest part rather than the weakest.