Expert advice from Richard Moody as Wolfenden contribute to environmental strategy and the Clean Air debate

The concrete industry and the dairy sector have both sought out the opinions of Wolfenden’s managing director, as Richard’s thoughts on the impact of the Clean Air Strategy feature in The Concrete Society Journal and in the latest edition of British Dairying.

As suppliers of concrete solutions to a whole range of sectors, including councils and utilities companies, and working on projects as diverse as Walkers Crisps manufacturing plants and Cumbrian road bridges, Wolfenden are one of the most-respected names in the concrete industry. So, when looking to provide their members with cutting-edge opinion on developments in precast, The Concrete Society called on Wolfenden’s Richard Moody for his insights, gleaned from years of working with and listening to dairy farmers and from the company’s innovation and industry-leading approach to product development.

This forward thinking is evident, too, in the June edition of British Dairying, where Richard focuses on planning for the future, helping dairy farmers to effectively prepare winter housing so as to comply with forthcoming regulations regarding slurry, and to minimise cost and future disruption to the farm business.

Richard comments,
“In the concrete industry, environmental benefits can often be down-played so it was good to have an opportunity to highlight ways that precast can contribute to meeting environmental targets – in this instance, for the dairy sector. Similarly, there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty within dairy regarding the likely impact and requirements for slurry covering, adhering to the Clean Air Strategy and the regulatory landscape.”

Richard’s article in The Concrete Society Journal drew on a number of dairy projects and the benefits that farmers have found since completion, including the impact of better slurry management on herd health and milk yield. Aimed at engineers, surveyors and contractors working in the agricultural sector, the article highlighted the benefits of using precast concrete: flexibility in design and delivery; cost-effectiveness in materials, and design options that meet both business and environmental requirements. For British Dairying, the focus was very much on the practicalities of managing slurry and emission reduction. Here, Richard offered insights from recent dairy projects to show that, even while it may not be an immediate regulatory necessity, a novel approach – incorporating slurry storage into the overall cattle housing – can help to futureproof a farm, both in terms of potential regulatory requirements and in business planning on the farm. Richard concludes,
“It’s reassuring to know that, at Wolfenden, we can contribute to important debates and that the wealth of experience we have is valuable to the dairy and the concrete industries, alike. Since developing and launching our SUPA range of precast for the dairy sector, we have had very positive feedback from farmers and from engineers and surveyors who have incorporated the products into their projects. Including the rationale behind the development of the range and the benefits it offers in articles such as the one in British Dairying will, I hope, raise awareness among farmers of the different solutions available for slurry management and help inform decisions at the planning stages, where our input can be of the greatest benefit.”