Ice-melt Alternatives

While snow totals vary from year to year, there's one thing you can always count on in winter in northern climates: Ice.

- DANIEL JOHNSON

Farms in northern climates must be prepared to deal with the realities of seasonal snow and cold, with all the efforts that come with it. To succeed easily, you just need knowledge and the right tools.

One winter challenge is ice — particularly when it forms to create slippery walkways or ice dams on roofs. Ice buildup can cause all kinds of unnecessary and often preventable winter problems. Chemical ice-melts are often a knee-jerk solution, but they may not be the best choice for farms, since these products are often unsafe for animals. So what does work? Let's explore.

ICE ON THE GROUND

Ice buildup on the ground is often an issue around your farm property toward late winter. It's easy for deep snow to pack down as people and livestock traverse it. First it snows overnight, then animals move around their pastures and paddocks, compressing the snow with every step. Family and farm help travel from building to building, causing additional compression around and between buildings.

All this packed snow slowly turns to ice after a time, making it difficult to remove the bottom layer, which makes further removal more difficult next time it snows. Also, the winter sun can start to mildly melt snow during the day, but then the cold nights of the season instantly refreeze all this moisture back into ice.

Late winter can also bring ice storms, where rain freezes as it falls. Before you know it, your farm has become the ideal recipe for slippery walkways, icy gates and stuck doorways — not to mention icy driveways, trails and paths around the barnyard. If it’s bad enough, this ice can be a surprisingly dangerous thing.

CHEMICAL ICE-MELT ISSUES