A prominent need for metal storage buildings exists in agriculture. A recent article from Farm and Ranch Guide illustrates this.

As he harvested corn last fall, a Missouri farmer knew storage capacity at his farm was maxed out. He faced the decision of selling from the field or finding alternative storage.

So Don Rasa decided to try a flat-storage system:

Two metal buildings on the farm, a Quonset and a pole barn, were transformed to provide 41,000 bushels of extra storage.

According to Bill Casady, University of Missouri agricultural engineer, grain storage continues to be a concern as Midwest farmers increase crop acres to fill the growing demands of the market.

“With the price of corn the way it is, they realize they need more bin storage space out there,” he says.

A metal storage building provides a terrific, low-cost option. However, producers should weigh the cost and benefits of revamping or adding any buildings for flat storage against other options first.

Like many crop farmers, Rasa wanted control over his physical product, and chose to keep the commodity in question on the farm with the use of a pair of existing steel buildings for flat storage.

First, he poured a concrete floor in the Quonset metal building, needing concrete as a foundation to store machinery.

The second building was a pole-frame barn structure without concrete. Rasa lined the dirt floor with plastic and installed concrete retaining walls around the sides and ends.

Both portable commercial metal buildings had fans connected to aeration tubes, with roughly three or four of the tubes extended throughout the length of each building.

It wasn't all easy, however. In fact, putting the grain into the steel buildings proved more difficult than expected.

“It took a little more labor to get it in there and a little more labor to get it out than I would have liked it to have,” Rasa said.

He recommends a metal storage building with tall sidewalls, a minimum of 14 feet, to enable an auger to cone grain adequately.

Storage space increases quickly as the height of grain against the walls increases. Casady says farmers should properly reinforce walls to withstand the lateral pressure of stored grain.

Analysis of metal building materials and the methods for retrofitting an existing structure for grain storage can be difficult and uncertain. After using flat storage for the first time last year, some Missouri farmers saw distinct differences in building types.

Nevertheless, Rasa plans to use his new storage system again this year - and you can bet he's not the only one to make this discovery.