ABEN 424 RURAL STRUCTURES ENGINEERING
FUNCTIONAL PLANNING OF FARMSTEADS LAYOUTS
Farmstead planning is the formal location of farm structures and communication networks to
achieve optimal interrelations between various structures for efficient production.
The farmstead planning comes after the economical planning. The task of farmstead planning is
carried out by farm building engineer. The engineer works out functional and structural designs
and develops farmstead plan.
Building planning
The planning process always starts with a list of available resources and restrictions and other
background materials. This is followed by sketching the major outline for the design. The final
design is developed by working from rough sketches towards more and more detailed plans of
the different parts of the building
Background information
An economic plan for the operation will provide much of the background information required
by the farm building engineer. In the absence of economic plan data; then information can be
obtained by interviewing farmers and studying similar farms in the area. Where the design is
specific most of the information should be provided by the farmer.
When planning for farm buildings the planner is required to gather data on the following factors
1. Comprehensive master plan of the farmstead
2. For storage structures data over expected acreage and yields of crop to be dried and
stored, the length of the storage period i.e. quality of produce, the quantity to be stored
for home consumption and quantity to be sold.
3. For animal housing, the quantity and quality of existing animals and the possibility and
time to increasing and improve the heard through a breeding programme should be
considered
4. Availability of building materials and constructions skills on the farm
5. Laws and regulations applicable to the proposed building
Room schedule
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