GREEN BAY—Green Bay Farmer Roy Bayer has seen his share of challenges over the past few years so he is taking the collapse of the roof of a barn sheltering some of his cattle in stride.
“I was able to get all of the cattle safely out,” he said. Mr. Roy has been using the barn on the neighbouring farm for several years and in the past he has had as many as 40 head of cattle, including a bull, in the building. This season he had cut back, so there were only a dozen or so in the barn when the roof began to fall in.
Mr. Bayer explained that the barn was originally built in the 1980s by Terry Aelick and had stood the test of time up until a few days ago, but although Mr. Bayer did reinforce the rafters of the building a while ago the amount of snow Manitoulin has seen this winter proved a flake or two too much.
“I was looking at taking the snow off the roof, but the centre had started to dip, and I was not willing to risk myself or anyone else up there,” he said.
Mr. Bayer has found a new home for the cattle, shipping some out. “I have been downsizing recently, I’m not getting any younger,” he noted.
Mr. Bayer is not certain if the owner of the building will be interested in rebuilding as that will require the addition of new trusses. The barn, a steel-clad structure, consists of a lower area for cattle and an upper floor that was used for square bale hall storage in the past. The second floor helped keep the roof from coming down completely, but since the weight has resulted in the twisting of the front wall and door runners that may make if very difficult to get the main doors open now.
In the meantime, some of Mr. Bayer’s farm equipment remains trapped in a lean-to structure on the side of the barn—so he may decide to pull the snow off of that lower roof. Otherwise, spring thaw should ensure that the roof will be safer to deal with once the snow is gone.
