You can use a poly tarp on a farm or ranch in many different ways. If you're a farmer, for example, you can use modern poly tarps to protect crops and equipment, give shelter to livestock, or temporarily cover a damaged roof. You can use them in just about any climate condition or region. You can use them whether it's raining, humid, sunny or snowy. The poly tarps are so versatile that they have become vital tools for ranchers and farmers. However, you do need to take some special considerations into account during more extreme weather conditions. Still, for the most part, poly tarp benefits far outweigh any drawbacks of maintenance you might have to do to keep your poly tarps in good repair.

Using Them for Animals

You can use a 100" x 100" heavy-duty tarp to give shelter to livestock and protect them from bad weather. They can also be used to provide shade or give animals protection from the sun. As a rancher or farmer, you can fasten a tarp between two trees, which can form an open lean to or shelter. If it's raining, the shelter should be put up on ground that is elevated so that moisture can roll off and so that you can also prevent standing water from pooling in the shelter. You can also do this with a 60-inch by 100-inch heavy-duty poly tarp, too.

When you make the shelter for the animals, make sure that you place the tarp high enough that animals' horns, such as those of the bull, do not brush against and poke a hole in the tarp. You should also not hang the tarp too high, because rain can then blow under the tarp and render its purpose useless.

You can also fashion a shelter for animals by using PVC pipe to create a frame and then hang the tarp over it. You can secure the edges of the tarp the bottom of the frame. This will also allow sites to be created, which means that the animals will have even more shelter. If you leave two sides open and close in two sides, this is a good idea, especially if you are sheltering sheep or cows. If you leave just one entrance and exit point, this can make the animals panic and knock down the shelter. This could potentially injure the animals and of course negates their protection from the weather.

Equipment Protection

Tarps come in a wide variety of sizes, and can be used to cover many different types of equipment and machinery on your ranch or farm. You can cover tractors and larger equipment such as threshing machines. This is particularly useful if your region is humid, such as those in the extreme Northwest United States, or Northeast or Southern states. With these particular climates, dampness and humidity can cause vehicles to rust, as can equipment. Tarps offer some protection from this, which makes the equipment last longer.

Crop Protection

If you want to use lighter weight poly tarps, you can cover crops to protect them from an early freeze or from a frost you weren't expecting. However, you have to take care that moisture or other water doesn't become trapped underneath the tarp. This can basically drown your plants and ruin them. You can also use tarps to protect your crops from intense sunlight, but remember is that your crops do need some sun, so take care that you don't overprotect your crops from the sun with tarps.

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