Man creates toy barn business to preserve memory of historic farm buildings

13:12:20 30th December 2010

A man in Iowa in the US has created a small business making and selling toy barns that are miniature versions of the farm buildings seen in the state.

John Kauffman told Farm-News.com that he likes to drive around the state's countryside as looking at its variety of barns provides him with inspiration for the toys he produces.

"I think it's important for kids to learn about barns and I love to see little kids smile when they play with these toys. I make my barns to last and I hope they become family heirlooms," he said.

Each small farm building takes Mr Kauffman around 35 hours to make, as they are highly intricate, including roofs that open up, livestock stalls and feeders.

The first barn he made was for his nephew Nick Lemmon to store his farm animal toy collection in and he says he has been "hooked" ever since.

Back in the UK, the Express and Echo recently reported that 43-year-old boar farmer Alan Dedames had won a battle to keep farm buildings that he erected to protect his livestock from animal rights activists.

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