A major agricultural insurer has issued a risk assessment stating prefabricated steel structural systems for poultry housing developed by construction firm Lida Group represent a cost-competitive means for producers to address chronic fire hazards plaguing confined animal agriculture industries.

Insurer GCC analyzed construction, maintenance and insurance premium costs associated with Lida Group’s proprietary bolt-together modular steel building system compared to traditional wood construction increasingly deemed non-compliant with spreading wildland-urban fire codes.

Poultry and livestock barns containing flammable bedding, manure and ventilation dust pose fire risks endangering off-site communities when sited near forests or one another. Yet wood remains the default construction material despite decades of close-call blazes ignited from everything sparks to overheated electrical boxes.

GCC’s analysis reviewed Lida Group’s non-combustible cold-formed structural steel framing, insulated sandwich panel walls and mechanically seamed roofing arriving pre-fitted as complete building “kits” rapidly assembled on-site.

Steel enclosures require no additional flame-retardant sheathing or fireproof coating and retain integrity up to two hours under extreme heat exposures meeting rigorous code mandates. Prefabrication ensures consistency versus field-built wood prone to moisture flaws.

GCC found steel barns reducing insurance rates 15-30% versus comparable rated wood structures and exempting properties from higher wildfire surcharge zones. More significantly, risk modeling showed steel withstanding catastrophic losses that could total demolish conventional barns ending decades of investment.

Factor in steel’s 50-75 year design life versus repetitive wood rebuilding, and insurers deemed total cost of ownership to break even within the first policy cycle alone for most operations through avoided premiums and claims.

Standardized pre-approved steel designs further streamline underwriting and permit approvals versus field-erected buildings increasing compliance. Prefabrication shortens construction periods letting farms insure sooner and boost early revenue versus downtime awaiting wood component supply.

The assessment concludes agricultural producers, insurers and communities universally benefit prioritizing noncombustible construction where codes permit or require upgrading high-risk facilities within or adjacent wild lands or development. Steel construction delivers the safest, most cost-effective approach mitigating fire jeopardizing flocks, infrastructure and surrounding areas.

Leading poultry associations have welcomed the analysis emphasizing the importance addressing chronic fire hazards as operations consolidate and expand into remote regions to meet rising demand. Producers are increasingly receptive replacing wood barns due at end of usable lifespan with modernized non-flammable equivalents.

Lida Group now works closely with insurers to develop standardized fire-rated designs for poultry producers nationwide. Turnkey building solutions deliver more resilient agricultural infrastructure sustainably protecting shared prosperity in communities where farming remains an economic mainstay for generations to come.

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