Before building his facility, Holbrook looked at structures on other farms. Holbrook made the application through the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District. After it was approved, district soil conservationist Leslie Smathers and water-quality engineer Jeff Ferguson designed the facility. For his investment, Holbrook now has a well-ventilated building to mix agricultural chemicals and fill his spray tank. A concrete floor with a gutter system collects any runoff and stores it in an area equipped with sump pumps.
Any runoff collected is removed and applied to fields.
Sprayers are filled from a large water tank. Chemical containers are stored in a ventilated cabinet, which can be locked. The facility has an emergency shower and eye wash in case of worker exposure and a place to wash up after handling chemicals. In winter, he stores his valuable spray equipment in the building to protect it from the weather. The chemical handling facility, combined with cover crops, field border buffers and grass runoff diversions, make Holbrook a River Friendly Farmer.