Why is asbestos so common on farms?
Big-six corrugated cement sheeting was the standard farm roof for decades — barns, dairies, workshops and lean-tos across the country still carry it, along with cement water troughs, flue pipes and board linings in older buildings.
Can I remove a farm building’s asbestos roof myself?
Farmers can legally do limited work with cement sheets on their own holding, but the practical risks — fragile roofs, breakage, disposal — mean it rarely pays. A contractor removes it intact, disposes of it with consignment notes, and you keep the paperwork for the holding’s records.
What happens to asbestos sheets that have fallen or broken in a yard?
Broken sheet and fragments should be damped, picked and double-wrapped rather than swept or driven over. We clear storm damage and collapsed roofs regularly — including checking soil where sheets have weathered and shattered over years.
