The farm electrician · Southern Tier NY & Northern PA

Your farm's electrician, from the main panel to the milk house.

I'm an electrician who works on farms only. I inspect your barn's wiring with a heat camera to catch problems before they start a fire, fix what's broken, and wire new barns from the ground up.

Penn College trained · 15 years as an industrial foreman · Ran my own service company · My background →

Preston's Farm Electric badge — red barn, cows and horse in a hay field, since 1881

Most barn fires aren't lightning. They're a loose wire or a worn-out breaker heating up for months — until one night it catches.

500,000+
farm animals die in US barn fires every year
Wiring
is one of the leading causes of barn fires
Free
your first visit and main panel scan

What I do — farms only

1 Inspections

Find the hot spot before it finds your barn.

A full electrical check-up:

  • Heat-camera scan of panels, breakers, motor controls and ventilation controls. Hot means it's getting ready to fail.
  • Power readings so motors aren't overworked or burning out early.
  • Hands-on look for rust from manure gas, water getting in, and rodent-chewed wires.
  • Stray voltage test on every dairy.

Written report with photos, problems listed most-urgent first. Follows NFPA 70B — handy when your insurance company asks. More →

2 Service & repair

Something not working right? I fix it.

  • Breakers tripping and circuits going dead
  • Motors and motor controls — pumps, augers, parlor equipment
  • Heated waterers and tank heaters before winter hits
  • Old or worn-out panels replaced
  • Barn lighting and outlets — including long-day lighting that keeps cows milking well through winter
  • Generator hookups so milking doesn't stop when the power does
  • Rusted, chewed or unsafe wiring replaced

You get a total price before I start. Scheduled around milking and chores.

3 New construction

Building or adding on? I wire it start to finish.

  • New barns, parlors, milk houses and shops
  • Additions and expansions — more cows, more load
  • New service and panels sized for what you're adding
  • Wired for barns — built to handle damp, dust and manure gas
  • Permits and inspections handled where required

Free estimate. Best to call early, while you're still planning.

Inspection prices

Small farm
$650
One barn or a small operation
Dairy farm
$1,095
A few buildings, up to about 200 cows
Big dairy
from $1,650
200+ cows — priced after the free visit

Service & repair: a total price before I start — service calls from $150. New construction: free estimate. Dairy inspections include a stray voltage test.

Annual plan — yearly inspection, pre-winter check, priority scheduling, no trip fees, 10% off repairs. $895/yr small farm · $1,495/yr dairy
Herd Protect — quarterly scans for dairies, 15% off repairs, first in line for urgent calls. $2,995/yr

How it works

  1. Call or text Tell me what's going on — a problem, an inspection, or a building project.
  2. Free visit I walk your barn, heat-scan your main panel, and give you a price. No pressure.
  3. The work Scheduled around milking and chores. You decide what gets done.

Why Preston's?

In 1881, Michael Preston opened a store in Canton, PA where farmers traded eggs and butter for what they needed. My grandfather Phil Preston later ran our family's feed mill there for twenty years. Now it's a family business again, carrying that name — and the trust that comes with it. Read the family story →

Where I work

Within about an hour of Owego, NY

Southern Tier NY & Northern PA — Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, Bradford, Susquehanna and more. Bigger jobs up to 1½ hours. See the map →

Don't wait for the smell of smoke

Call or text Eric Riggs

(607) 381-0244

Inspections, repairs and new construction. Evenings and weekends, booked ahead. Your first visit is free. Something broken right now?

Call or text (607) 381-0244