Agricultural Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are an increasingly popular option for agricultural uses. While metal has been a popular choice for grain storage and silos on farms for decades, improved technology and design has increased the use of steel buildings for many other purposes on farms large and small. Today, you may find steel buildings in use as livestock housing, dairy barns, equipment storage, grain storage, equestrian barns and even riding arenas. Steel offers a number of advantages as the building material of choice for agricultural buildings.

Equipment Storage

Tractors, tiller and other farm equipment represent a substantial economic investment, so providing proper protection is important. Steel buildings withstand weather better and are more economical to erect than traditional wood structures. In many cases, a property owner can have a small equipment storage building up and ready to use over the course of a weekend. The wide doors and unencumbered interior makes arch-frame steel buildings an ideal choice for equipment storage.

Animal Housing

Steel is also an ideal choice for housing animals. Steel barns are less flammable than wooden barns, even those constructed with fire retardant lumber. Many steel building manufacturers specialize in designing horse barns and animal housing from steel. A properly built steel building with a sprinkler system can cut insurance costs by as much as 50 percent because of the fire resistant properties of steel buildings.

If you choose to design your own horse barn, you’ll find that metal building manufacturers can provide one to fit any size or budget consideration, including steel buildings with lofts built above the main floor to store hay and modular floor plans that allow you to reconfigure the interior at need.

Equestrian Arenas

In addition to barns, horse farms also often use steel buildings as horse arenas. Depending on the climate, metal buildings used as arenas may provide full coverage or just overhead coverage to protect against inclement weather. Enclosed metal arenas allow equestrians to train year round in any climate. Steel buildings are an economical choice for horse arenas because of their low maintenance costs and flexibility.

Dairy Barns

Dairy farms are turning to steel buildings more and more often because they offer a number of important advantages. Cross-ventilation in steel dairy barns reduces the fumes from waste and decreases the incidence of birds, flies and other pests. The reduced pest and fume levels increase the comfort level of the cows, which respond by producing more milk. Steel dairy barns are also a more flexible option than traditional wood buildings and pole barns. They’re easy to expand as the dairy herd increases and can be configured with many options to increase efficiency.

Check with a supplier of steel buildings for testimonials and advice about choosing steel buildings for your agricultural storage and animal housing needs. Steel is an economical and practical alternative to other traditional types of agricultural buildings.