Selecting the best loafing barn site puts you in a prime position to capitalise on the benefits of a loafing barn.
This is because both the site location and site preparation play a critical role in ensuring a loafing barn is effective and profitable.
For example, site details such as access and weather exposure will impact the day-to-day operations of your dairy, cow comfort and welfare and ultimately milk production and profitability.
So, in this article, we discuss:
- The benefits of loafing barns and why you need to choose the right site
- Factors to consider when selecting a site
- Site preparation recommendations
You will also find links to helpful industry resources and information.

The Benefits Of Loafing Barns & Why Site Selection Is Important
Loafing barns can provide some substantial benefits for both smaller and larger-scale grazing dairy farms.
Firstly, a loafing barn creates a comfortable, low-stress environment for cows. Comfortable cows produce more milk, and a loafing barn allows them to produce more milk consistently – all year round.
Similarly, a loafing barn provides comfortable working conditions, is typically a labour-efficient system and can provide you with peace of mind that your cows are comfortable.

One of the main reasons why loafing barns are popular is because the infrastructure can contribute to improved pasture management. For example, a loafing barn can help reduce pugging in the wet months. Or allow pasture to recover faster after a dry season.
Improved pasture management – along with stormwater catchment, solar panels installation and repurposing composted bedding for fertiliser – contributes to a sustainable dairy operation.
Finally, an often overlooked benefit of loafing barns is how they can be easily repurposed, retrofitted and converted. For example, a loafing barn can be repurposed as a calving barn – or used to store fodder. Or your loafing barn could be a stepping stone towards a contained housing system such as a free stall barn.
In other words, loafing barns provide wide-ranging benefits – and these benefits can all directly or indirectly impact your bottom line.
So, how important is good site selection?

As we mentioned earlier, the site for your loafing barn will play a role in creating a functional setup. Both the site location and the site preparation will have an impact.
For example, a slope over the site is recommended for effectively managing effluent and capturing stormwater. This is why choosing a site with a natural slope is often more cost-effective – provided the site meets other requirements.
Arguably, one of the major implications of not choosing the right site is the impact on cow comfort. For example, incorrect barn orientation and/or existing infrastructure blocking airflow can cause heat stress and crowding – essentially defeating the purpose of the barn!
Other implications could include project delays due to poor wet weather access, increased site preparation costs or a poor site layout that impacts logistics or limits future expansion.
So, read on for an overview of the most important points to consider to make sure this isn’t the case with your project.
5 Steps To Help You Choose The Best Loafing Barn Site
1
Consider Existing Infrastructure & Layout
Your existing shed infrastructure and dairy layout will likely shape the best site for your loafing barn.
As a result, there may be an obvious location where your barn will work best.
For example, the loafing barn pictured below has been strategically located adjacent to the dairy and feedpad. The barn design includes four entry and exit points for easy access to both the dairy and feedpad – and access for bedding maintenance.


Conversely, existing infrastructure may result in site restrictions or place limitations on where you can build your loafing barn.
Some factors to consider are accessibility and airflow. For example: Is there safe, all-weather machinery access? Is there room for access roads? Will the existing infrastructure impede airflow? Are you able to use the recommended orientation?
You may also need to consider whether any of the buildings nearby are dwellings or in a different ownership.
Our building consultants can visit the site and help you assess your options – and can provide site-specific recommendations and advice.
2
Plan Water & Effluent Management

When it comes to site location and preparation, it is important to address both stormwater management and water supply for your farm.
For example, proximity to water supply for dust suppression, fire services (more on this later) and general cleaning can be a factor when deciding on site location.
A loafing barn also provides an excellent opportunity to capture and use stormwater run-off.
For example, the 123m x 45m loafing barn at Dhurringile pictured could harvest around 2,999,970 litres annually – based on an annual rainfall average of 542mm.
You can use the calculator below to determine how much your roof could capture.
Rainwater Harvest Calculator
If you are wondering about the volume of rainwater you could potentially collect from a shed roof, use the stormwater calculator.
There are several site details that can impact the effectiveness of your stormwater management
For example, the site will require space for a water catchment area or stormwater tanks and a slope over the site can assist with capturing stormwater at one end of the barn.
A slope over the site will also be a requirement if you intend to flood wash the feedlane or if you intend to convert the barn to a free stall in the future. Our building consultants typically recommend around a 2% slope for floodwashing.
Consider: Will your current effluent system accommodate this? Will new holding ponds be required? Will this influence site location?
You can find more information on land slope and drainage systems in the National Guidelines for Feedpads and Contained Housing.
3
Understand Climate & Site Exposure
The local climate is often a major contributing factor behind the decision to invest in a loafing barn – and determines what the loafing barn needs to achieve.
For example, a loafing barn in Northern VIC or Southern NSW is often most valuable when it keeps cows cool in summer. Whereas, a loafing barn in the Gippsland region may be most beneficial when keeping cows out of the mud in the winter months.
That’s not to say a loafing barn isn’t valuable year-round! However, it does highlight the importance of understanding the climate and considering how exposed the site is to the prevailing weather.
This is where the importance of barn orientation comes into play! The orientation can make or break your barn.
For example, incorrect orientation can cause cows to bunch up when seeking shade, exacerbating their heat stress.
The best orientation for a loafing barn is to have the roofline running east-west.

East-West works best for three main reasons.
Firstly, the east-west orientation allows you to take advantage of the prevailing winds for airflow, which is also known as “cross-ventilation”. This helps to keep the cows cool, and the bedding dry and can reduce odours and ammonia buildup.
Secondly, during the summer months, the east-west orientation reduces the amount of direct sunlight in the loafing area. This helps reduce cows bunching up. This is because when heat stressed, cows tend to avoid brightly lit areas and will seek out shaded sections.
Thirdly, during the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky, the east-west orientation will allow the warmth of the sun to penetrate in from the northern side. This helps to keep the bedding dry and reduces mud.
So, it is important to choose a loafing barn site that works with the recommended east-west orientation.
And you can learn more about this here – What Is The Best Loafing Barn Orientation?
4
Address Industry Regulations & Council Requirements
There are several regulations and requirements – from both the dairy industry and your local council – that may impact where you can build your loafing barn.
For example, council requirements could include considering overlays such as land subject to flooding and inundation. This might be the case if you are starting with a greenfield site with no existing dairy infrastructure.
You may also be required to ensure there is no impact on native vegetation, there is adequate separation from dwellings (for odour management) and that the barn visually blends into the surroundings.
One way to make your barn more aesthetically pleasing is to choose a Colorbond cladding that matches existing sheds or the landscape. The loafing barn pictured below uses Pale Eucalypt Colorbond cladding to do just that.


As briefly mentioned earlier, if your loafing barn is converted to contained housing at some point, this may change the classification to “farm building”. If this is the case there will be fire design requirements that you need to satisfy. These requirements could impact what site you choose for your loafing barn.
For example, is there space for emergency services to access within 4 metres? Is there a water supply within 60 metres?
You can learn more about farm shed classification and fire design here – What Are The Fire Design Requirements For Farm Sheds? There is also helpful information on this topic in the National Feedpad & Contain Housing Guidelines and the Australian Building Codes Board website.
Our projects team can also provide advice and arrange fire design services on your behalf.
So, what industry requirements will influence the site location?
The size of your loafing barn obviously influences where you can build it – simply because there needs to be room for the overall barn and machinery access on each side (during installation and when in use).
Industry regulations also come into play by determining what size your barn needs to be. These include:
- Stocking density of 10-15m2 per cow for permanent housing.
- Stocking density of around 7m2 per cow for short-term use such as winter barns (please note this doesn’t take into account the feedlane).
- Bunk space of at least 250mm per head
- 80-100mm of water trough per cow
It is important to factor in these requirements when planning loafing barn size and when weighing up potential sites.
If you are looking for more information on loafing barn sizes, check out this article – What Size Loafing Barn Should I Build?
5
Planning For the Future
As we have discussed throughout this article, one of the benefits of a loafing barn is its versatility.
The ability to repurpose or convert a loafing barn makes it an ideal stepping stone in dairy expansion and growth plans.
For example, the loafing barn pictured is currently being used as a calving barn.

Similarly, our building consultants can work with you to ensure your loafing barn can be easily converted to a freestall barn. This typically includes ensuring the barn width accommodates the internal layout.
You will also need to factor this into your site selection – particularly details like effluent management and fire design.
It is good practice to think long-term when selecting the site and planning the layout for any farm shed project – large or small. A lack of space can be frustrating in the short term – it can also impact your ability to grow your business in the future.
So, that’s a summary of 5 steps to take to help you choose the best loafing barn site!
We trust this has been a helpful discussion. Our building consultants can provide additional advice on each of these steps – call us on 1800 687 888 for a project consultation.
Next up, is an overview of the points you need to address when preparing the site.
How To Prepare Your Loafing Barn Site (A Checklist)

- Conduct site clearing and soil testing as per council requirements
- Arrange earthmoving to prepare the site for drainage and stormwater capture, water storage tanks and any required effluent catchment points.
- Prepare gravel base under the bedding (While a full concrete floor usually doesn’t offer benefits for a loafing barn this may be a consideration if you are converting your barn to a contained housing set-up)
- Arrange concrete feed lane install
- Plan and prepare all-weather roads for machinery accessing the barn to replace bedding and top-up fodder.
A well-prepared site will also keep the barn accessible during installation and will help avoid delays due to poor weather.
Ultimately, it is important not to overlook the role site location and preparation have in ensuring your loafing barn is effective and functional.
You might also find these articles and resources helpful:
- How to Use Barn Design To Maximise Cow Comfort
- Featured Project – 24 Metre Span Loafing Barn
- Covered Feedpads & Housing Guide (PDF Download)
Ready to get your project planning underway? Looking for site recommendations for your loafing barn? Give us a call to schedule a site assessment with one of our building consultants – we would be happy to help!