As Wolfenden prepare to join farmers and agricultural specialists at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show, RIDBA – the UK’s leading trade association for the modern agricultural and industrial building industry – showcase the company’s newest product developments in their latest journal.

With testing and development showing significant benefits over standard processes and materials, Wolfenden Concrete are soon to launch their unique SUPA GREEN products: an innovative ultra-low carbon range to help dairy farmers reduce costs, improve productivity and meet environmental targets.

SUPA GREEN diagonal slats in production

As the NFU’s ambition of reaching Net Zero emissions for farming by 2040 is reflected in Government agricultural policy, Wolfenden are continuing investment in product development to help dairy farmers meet and exceed environmental requirements, while also helping to improve herd health and reduce costs.

The new SUPA GREEN product range is the result of extensive development by Wolfenden, working with the multi-award winning DB Group and harnessing the unique properties of their innovative Cemfree® technology. The first products in the SUPA GREEN range – including diagonal slats and slurry channels – are due to be launched in early Spring.

Comprehensive testing of Cemfree concrete shows significant benefits to dairy farmers, including greater durability through improved acid resistance, assuring greater longevity and up to 62% reduction in carbon emissions. For a typical dairy installation, this represents an embodied CO2 reduction of nearly 5,000kg, equivalent to driving an average car nearly 25,000 miles.

For Wolfenden, this new range represents a natural extension to the innovation of the SUPA range launched in 2019, further helping dairy farmers to improve herd health through better housing, and to improve emission reduction through more effective slurry management.

As a totally cement-free alternative to conventional concrete, Cemfree is a ground-breaking milestone in low-carbon concrete technology and this, combined with Wolfenden’s innovative product design and expertise, represents a significant and timely development, given the announcement of the Government’s roadmap, ‘Path to Sustainable Farming’ in November last year and the proposed Farming Investment Fund.

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.

The Rural and Industrial Design and Buildings Association (RIDBA) is the leading voice in the modern rural design and agricultural buildings industry, representing and connecting surveyors, planners, designers, suppliers, fabricators and universities and colleges right across the sector.

With stringent criteria for quality, technical expertise and professional standards, RIDBA membership conveys confidence to clients who can be assured they are working with specialists who have a deep understanding of the needs of UK farmers and are embedded in the UK rural economy.

Richard Moody, managing director at Wolfenden Concrete, explains why the company decided to apply to join the Association,
“We have made significant investment in the last few years in new product development – leading to the launch of our SUPA range for dairy farming last year and to plaudits for innovation. We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find our products – especially in the current climate, where there’s the potential for disruption in the supply chain. Being awarded RIDBA membership makes it simpler for the clients we want to work with to find our products and it reassures them that we offer quality and excellence.”

One of RIDBA’s featured case studies – the headline project for the Centre for Dairy Science Innovation, University of Nottingham, in the RIDBA Livestock category – was undertaken by Haston Reynolds, Chartered Surveyors who specified Wolfenden’s agricultural concrete products throughout the build. For more details on this project see the RIDBA case studies and for information on Wolfenden’s contribution to the Centre, read more here.