Ouessant Sheep

It may seem strange to think about, but heating the farm usually presents quite a challenge. Many farms are located in areas that may not have the most reliable power sources. A simple storm can wipe out power for days whereas, in the city, power can be re-established within a couple of hours unless it is severe damages. Luckily, heating the farm is about to get easier for you.

Why Heating Rural Areas is Harder

Not only do power outages cause it to be tougher to heat homes in rural areas, but there is also proof of other factors. The EPA has done the research and can prove that air temperature in the city is going to be warmer than in rural areas. In a city of a million people, temperatures can increase by 1.8 to 5.4 degrees as compared to the rural areas nearby. At night, the difference is even larger, with potentially up to 22 degrees. This is because rural areas do not have large buildings, concrete, and asphalt which can hold heat. Therefore, when the sun sets in a rural area, heat escapes quickly, while the city can stay hotter throughout the night.

Finding Easy Heating Solutions

Instead of relying on central heating units, which could increase the power bill very much. They rely on wood. Fireplaces, wood stoves are as common in the rural area as central heat is in the city. This is a good thing for many reasons. The fact that it saves money and allows warmth even during power outages are just two of the reasons. The problem is, it also requires farm owners to prepare ahead of winter.

Preparations include cleaning out the chimney to make sure there is no debris in it. Inspect it for damage. They also have to prepare their wood stockpile to ensure that they do not run out in the middle of winter. The easiest way to do this is to use a wood splitter. The only real issue that they ever have is that the electric log splitter switch can go bad on them. This is why many farmers keep an extra on standby.

Other Winterizing Concerns

When on the farm, you never know what to expect, but you are pretty sure you do not want to experience more issues than you have to. Therefore, many people who live in the country take extra measures to prepare their homes for winter. They prepare their gutters, perform roof inspections, and make sure their barn is able to hold up through the snowiest parts of winter. If animals are present, they must also get enough hay in line to make sure that their animals will be fine throughout the winter season.

Winter is a serious time that requires serious preparations, especially in the northern states where ice and snow may be present for months at a time. How prepared are you for this winter?