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Keep your herd healthy, comfortable, and easier to manage with a purpose-built wintering shelter. A SmartShelters wintering barn gives cows the warm, dry environment they need to maintain condition, calve well, and head into the season in good shape.
Our post mounted wintering barns keep cows housed 24/7 on a soft, warm bedding floor. Dry cows in a wintering barn can gain 1 BCS in 28 days because they aren't burning energy fighting the cold.
With 110 years of experience under our belt, we know how to design and build effective wintering barns that improve animal welfare, increase milk production, and reduce farm costs.
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Wintering sheds often include a concrete cow lane down each side where cows stand to feed, connected to a weeping wall or bunker system at one end that catches the effluent.
Farmers often use the barn for stand-off feeding in autumn to reach a 305-day lactation target, before cows move into the barn full-time for the 6–12 week dry period. Two weeks out from calving, cows are split into calving mobs, then taken out into the colostrum and milking herds once calved.
The returns show up across the board. Feed intake drops to 8–11 kg DM per cow compared to 16–18 kg DM per cow on a winter crop, which means a faster return on investment and less feed wastage. Mastitis and respiratory problems fall, udders come in cleaner, and calving is easier and safer. Animal welfare improves, milk production increases, and for farms considering winter milking, a covered barn makes it viable.
For a comfortable and cost-effective barn base, we recommend Composting Bedding. SmartShelters has developed this system in collaboration with industry professionals and pioneering Kiwi farmers to find the sweet spot for housing dry cows during the winter period.
View farmer testimonials on our YouTube channel.
Our Auckland-based team designs and builds wintering barns to match your herd and your site. With spans of up to 45m available, we can build a comfortable shelter for your herd with no centre poles for livestock to knock or damage.
We recommend 10–12m² per cow for 24-hour housing, and 750–950mm of feed face per cow to ensure fair access at the feed line. While designed to protect your herd through winter, SmartShelters wintering barns also keep your herd 5–10°C cooler in summer.
We also recommend installing a small trench and drainage line beneath the bedding to remove excess moisture and future-proof your barn against regulation changes.
You can customise your wintering barn with optional extras. Our team will help you work out the right configuration for your livestock.
A SmartShelters covered loafing shed for cattle supports animal welfare by providing better conditions and comfort throughout winter. Herd health improves, udders come in cleaner, and mastitis cases drop. SmartShelters' industry-leading airflow also reduces or eliminates respiratory problems.
Healthier, more comfortable cows produce more milk. Lower energy expenditure can cut feed costs by up to 50%, and managing your herd in one place reduces the labour and costs of daily care. A covered barn also means less reliance on expensive off-farm grazing, more efficient pasture growth, and winter milking made viable.
A SmartShelters wintering barn operates as a fully contained effluent system. Nutrient leaching during winter drops significantly when cows are off pasture, pugging and leaching are eliminated, and all effluent is captured and held for controlled spreading in spring — increasingly important as environmental requirements around leaching continue to tighten.
As New Zealand's first shelter manufacturer, we bring over a century of experience to every build. Our Auckland-made shelters deliver trusted performance with local support and a fast turnaround. We're here for the long term, offering personalised support, quick repairs, and quality that can't be beaten.
Our 12-year warranty is the longest in the market and covers both the fabric and frame against manufacturing defects. We use only premium materials to ensure durability and reliability under New Zealand conditions, giving you peace of mind that our shelters deliver long-term value.
We don’t cut corners on strength. Our main canopy hoop arches are built with premium C450-grade structural galvanised steel — square or rectangular profile — with a wall thickness of no less than 4mm. It’s engineered for maximum durability, with quality assurance that outperforms imported alternatives.
Exclusively available through SmartShelters, our SMARTSHIELD® structural fabric is the strongest and most robust shelter fabric on the New Zealand market. This premium-grade ripstop membrane is 100% PVC-free and built for long-term performance against the elements.
Every SmartShelters structure is engineer-certified to the current NZ/Australian standard, ensuring safety and longevity for farmers. We design wintering barns for your specific location and its wind and snow loads.
Wintering cows in a covered barn protects them from the elements, which means less energy is spent on thermoregulation, and more goes into condition. You also reduce pasture damage, eliminate pugging and leaching, and contain all effluent for efficient, compliant disposal. Calving in the barn further reduces calf and cow losses compared to outdoor calving in cold weather.
The major increase in productivity is in cases where winter milking is made viable. If you can milk your herd at a time when you previously hadn’t, the benefits of wintering your herd in a sheltered space become obvious.
But even if you already milk in winter, or you have no plan to do so even with a wintering shelter, the cost savings that a SmartShelter construction can offer are compelling. Dramatically reduced feed expenditure, pasture growth and efficient herd management can see the cost of the shelter quickly paid back through savings alone.
The cost of a cattle loafing shed depends on:
Contact us for a site visit, and we'll provide a detailed quote.
We recommend 10–12m² per cow for 24-hour housing. The exact figure depends on cow size, whether cows are dry or milking, the feed system, and how the barn is managed. Our team will help you calculate the appropriate floor area for your herd, ensuring they have enough space to lie down comfortably and access feed without competition.
Our barns are built to last, with a 12-year warranty on both the cover fabric and frame. The SMARTSHIELD® fabric is engineered for sustained performance under UV, wind, and rain.
The SMARTSHIELD® fabric cover keeps the barn 3–4°C warmer than outside in winter — enough to make a real difference to cow comfort and condition gain without the cost of supplementary heating. In summer, the same cover reduces internal temperatures by 5–10°C, helping reduce heat stress risk.
SmartShelters is a trusted name in farming shelter construction. We manufacture every structure for your specific site, with premium materials and quality backed by an industry-leading 12-year warranty. We know what New Zealand conditions demand, and we never cut corners to meet them.
Whether you run a large dairy operation or a smaller mixed farm, we can design a wintering shelter tailored to your herd and your property. Contact us to see how a SmartShelters wintering barn can benefit your business today.
Protect what matters with New Zealand-made shelters built on 100 years of trusted expertise. Contact us today!
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