Planning Guide to Farm Machinery Storage
by Samuel D. Parsons, R. Mack Strickland, Don D. Jones, and William H. Friday, Extension Agricultural Engineers, Purdue University
Can you justify a machinery storage facility on your farm? Would the expected benefits of equipment protection, such as less deterioration, more reliable performance, and better resale values, be sufficient to recover the high initial building investment? The answers to these questions often are not clear-cut.
On Midwest corn and soybean farms, equipment "downtime” is expensive—estimated to be as high as $600 per hour during planting season. The amount of machinery housing needed to reduce this downtime is difficult to determine in actual dollars. Certainly, weather protection of belts, chains, clutches, cutting edges, and other parts subject to corrosion and deterioration helps to forestall breakdowns. When an individual considers the price of new machinery coupled with high interest rates, storage to increase equipment life appears to be more important than ever.
Despite the difficulties in answering precisely the “cost-benefit” question, more and more Corn Belt farms are introducing or adding to machinery storage facilities for some, if not all, of the following reasons:
Higher equipment trade -in value. A recent survey of
24 machinery dealers in the Midwest found that they typically allowed farmers 10-15 percent more on trade-in of tractors and tillage implements and up to
25 percent more on planters, drills, and harvest equipment that had been housed.
Greater convenience. The equipment is generally at one place and under one roof.
More security. This is especially important if the farm is in a remote location.
Better aesthetics. The farmstead is more appealing to passersby as well as to the family that lives there.
More capacity needed. Often, new equipment is larger than what it replaces and simply too big for the old storage unit.
Greater use. Machinery storage often is incorporated into a structure also intended to store seed, pesticides, and fertilizer or to house a modern farm shop (see Purdue Extension publication AE-104, "Planning Farm Shops for Work and Energy Efficiency").
Better tax management. In a “plush" year, the real cost of machinery storage can be substantially cushioned.
Remodeled Vs. New Storage
Unused livestock buildings, corn cribs and open-front buildings can sometimes be remodeled economically to store low-profile tillage implements. Because plows and other tillage tools are less likely to be vandalized or stolen than big round balers, wagons, or self-propelled equipment, a converted storage facility can be located remote from the farmstead.
Many farms have a large, centrally located, general-purpose barn that could be remodeled to store farm machinery. This usually involves removing support posts, partition walls, and part of the mow floor, as well as installing a large machinery access door. However, if major structural modifications are needed, consult a knowledgeable engineer to help you determine whether conversion would be possible or practical.
For infrequently used equipment (wagons, grain trucks, inclined augers, etc.), the “inconvenience" of a remodeled storage unit used once or twice a year may be justified. Most facilities of this type usually are not well-suited to other pieces of farm ma-
Cooperative Extension Service • Purdue University • West Lafayette, Indiana
• AE-115