farmyard

Farmyard is the area surrounding the farm buildings on a farmstead. It is typically enclosed and surfaced to provide a functional space for livestock handling, storage, and movement of people and equipment between buildings and fields. The yard combines elements of animal housing, feed and manure handling, and vehicle access, and it often includes structures such as barns, stables, sheds, feed stores, and loading ramps, as well as pens, exercise yards, water troughs, and waste handling areas. Surfaces are commonly concrete, asphalt, gravel, or compacted earth to support cleaning and drainage.

Common activities in the farmyard include feeding and watering livestock, sorting and moving animals between pens or to loading points, cleaning and mucking out, and the daily servicing of equipment and vehicles. It also serves as a staging area for bringing in supplies and for loading animals for transport.

Safety and maintenance are important in a farmyard, with attention to sturdy fences and gates, good lighting, non-slip surfaces, clear signage, and regular inspection of drainage and manure management infrastructure. Environmental considerations include odor control, waste handling, runoff management, dust, and biosecurity.

The farmyard is part of the broader farmstead; its design and use vary by farm type, climate, and regulatory requirements. In some contexts, a yard is specified for particular species, such as a cattle yard or poultry yard.