As machinery grows, so do storage sheds

May 26, 2016

Farmers may need more space to accommodate storage facilities

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Nobody would leave their 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 uncovered and exposed to the elements, so why would farmers to the same with any of their machinery?

As equipment has grown in size and sophistication, so have the storage facilities farmers’ use to house tractors and combines.

“Within the last five years, you’ve really seen a trend of these things going to 70, 80 or 90 feet (wide), clear span, with no support,” Justin Sobaski, vice president of Eastern Iowa Building told Missouri Farmer Today.

“Lately we’ve noticed customers requesting wider and higher buildings to fit all sizes of machinery, large doors that are easy to operate, plus a building that also looks nice and adds to the aesthetic value of their property,” said Menards Spokesperson Jeff Abbott.

Storage shed

Another trend being noticed is including a heated workshop; Josh Nowlin, a general sales manager for Quality Structures, said it’s cost effective to put everything under one roof.

The larger the building, the stronger it needs to be to withstand snow and other elements.

Upgraded paint, spray insulation, house wrap and post protectors are all available options to keep buildings safe and durable.

Video: Cleaning Sheep Barns & Setting Up Chutes

Indoor sheep farming in winter at pre-lambing time requires that, at Ewetopia Farms, we need to clean out the barns and manure in order to keep the sheep pens clean, dry and fresh for the pregnant ewes to stay healthy while indoors in confinement. In today’s vlog, we put fresh bedding into all of the barns and we remove manure from the first groups of ewes due to lamb so that they are all ready for lambs being born in the next few days. Also, in preparation for lambing, we moved one of the sorting chutes to the Coveralls with the replacement ewe lambs. This allows us to do sorting and vaccines more easily with them while the barnyard is snow covered and hard to move sheep safely around in. Additionally, it frees up space for the second groups of pregnant ewes where the chute was initially.