Our friend Jason Jackson is an experienced poultry grower with a wealth of knowledge and quick tips you can use around your farm. Here, he shares his three tips for effectively and efficiently using lighting on a poultry farm.
Tip #1: Keep the Lights On in your Control Room
You probably know what it's like to walk into your control room with your hands full and fumble around until you can manage to flip the light switch on. It's a small thing, but it can be pretty darn frustrating.
To abate this inconvenience, Jason recommends simply keeping the lights on in your control rooms. Set a general rule on your farm that the control room lights stay on, all the time. That way, you can always see and never have to risk dropping anything for the sake of turning the lights on.
To some, this may seem wasteful. But the reality is, keeping LED lights on all the time hardly uses any energy. It only costs Jason $3.50 per control room light bulb to leave it on all year! For more info on LED energy use, see our blog on choosing lights for your farm.
Tip #2: Use Infrared Light Switches
For some, the thought of leaving lights on all the time will just drive them nuts. And for some, paying that $7 to keep both control room lights on all the time just turns your stomach. If that sounds like you, Jason has another solution for avoiding dark control rooms: infrared light switches.
These switches have motion sensors that automatically turn on the lights when they detect someone is in the control room. During times of inactivity, it turns the lights off. These are the kind of switches you see in public bathrooms. Jason got this switch off of Amazon for $6-7.
This hands-free lighting method also keeps your light switch from getting dirty when you touch it.
Tip #3: Motion Sensors on Flood Lights
Jason's third tip is to have motion sensors on the flood lights on the outside of your buildings. This prevents you from having to stumble around in the dark whenever you come to your farm in the middle of the night in a rush, which we know happens all too often!
Having motion sensors outside is an inexpensive way to protect yourself and your investment at night. They also help your feed truck drivers when they come to your farm after dark.
Stay safe!
These lighting tips are simple, but having proper, no-hassle lighting could be what prevents you from hurting yourself when working in the dark.
As always, we're so thankful to Jason Jackson for sharing his knowledge and allowing us to film on his farm.
Contact Us
If you have any questions for us or ideas for future topics, please reach out to allen@southlandorganics.com or give us a call at 800-608-3755.
