Heavy snow collapses free stall barn

December ushered in record snowfalls throughout the Upper Midwest. These extreme snow events put pressure on many buildings. On a Manitowoc County farm west of Reedsville, Wis., the pressure was so great that a 70-stall free stall barn eventually collapsed.

The free stall barn was attached to an existing, traditional two-story dairy barn with a tin roof. As temperatures rose, the snow began sliding off the two-story building which stood north and south and fell onto the attached free stall barn running east and west. Initially, the lower standing free stall barn was able to hold the weight, reported the dairy farm owners. However, the building soon began to creak and then the entire structure collapsed. Thankfully, most of the dairy animals were outside of the building eating at the outdoor drive-by feeding area. Unfortunately, some animals were caught under the collapsed building.

The farm family, along with a few friends and neighbors began cutting away the tin roof to free the remaining animals. Cutting the tin was a difficult, time-consuming job. One friend who also happened to be a local volunteer fire fighter urged the family to call the fire department and enlist further help. Firemen came with metal cutting equipment and quickly freed most of the remaining Holsteins. When rescuers got off the roof, they heard a faint mooing noise and realized one more animal was still trapped. When they opened up that roof section, they discovered her head was pinned against the free stall divider. She was freed and is doing fine. While that animal survived, two herdmates lost their life in the collapse. Another had to be put down because she suffered a broken leg as the building fell to the ground.