Farm Sheds for Hay and Machinery Storage: The Practical Choice for Australian Agribusiness

 Thinking about a Farm Shed but don’t know where to start? Check out our helpful guide below. 

Farming in Australia means living with uncertainty; one good season can carry a whole year, and one bad one can undo it. The weather will always be the biggest variable. But farmers and agribusiness owners who protect what they can control, such as their equipment, their fodder, their infrastructure, are the ones who are in the best position to ride out the tough years.

Hay spoilage, equipment left exposed to the elements, and machinery downtime from rust and weather damage all eat into your bottom line. If you're running a medium sized agribusiness, a well designed farm shed is essential to protecting the assets your business depends on.

Custom Australian made Now Buildings farm shed kits offer a practical, scalable solution. Our sheds are engineered for your site, taking into consideration the conditions and climate in your area and are configured to store everything from round bales to headers and tractors under one roof. And the best part? You can extend your shed at any time.  So when your business grows, so can your shed. 

Thinking about a Farm Shed but don’t know where to start? Check out our helpful guide below.

1. A Custom Farm Shed will Improve your Operations

A new shed is an expense. Rusted machinery, spoiled hay, and equipment replaced years before its time are bigger expenses. When you compare the cost of a shed to the value of what it protects, and the cost of not protecting it, an investment in the right shed pays for itself many times over.

• Faster access: wide, well placed openings mean machinery and hay can be moved in and out without repositioning or awkward manoeuvring
• Better asset protection: enclosed, well ventilated storage reduces rust, weather damage, and hay spoilage, extending the working life of both equipment and fodder
• Reduced downtime: having machinery under cover and easy to reach cuts the time spent on maintenance and pre-season preparation
• Safer working environment: purpose built clearance and layout reduce the manual handling and manoeuvring risks that come with undersized storage
• Room to scale: a shed designed with future bays or extensions in mind supports growth without requiring a full rebuild

A Now Buildings farm shed is designed around how the farm actually operates, rather than forcing operations to work around the building.

2. Look for a Farm Shed that Suits a Medium Sized, Mixed Operation Agribusiness

While this is completely dependent on your operation, a small, medium and large sized agribusiness typically needs a shed that sits between a small farm shed and a large scale industrial structure. Your shed needs to be big enough for multiple pieces of machinery and a meaningful hay or feed volume, but still cost effective to build and maintain. Mixed farming businesses who run cropping, livestock, and machinery needs side by side, generally benefit most from multi-purpose rural buildings rather than a single-use structure.

Our most popular sheds types for a medium sized, mixed operation are:

• Multi-bay layouts that separate machinery storage from hay or fodder storage like these open bay sheds.
• High clearance openings sized for headers, tractors, and loaders. Check out our drive through sheds with high clearance here.
• Sheds that are open at both ends, allowing you to drive machinery in and out easily. Check out our drive through sheds here.
• Room for a workshop or maintenance bay alongside storage, like our partially enclosed sheds here.
• Sheds that have expandable bay designs, allowing extra bays to be added as the mix of enterprises change and grow over time.

Our custom farm shed kits allow these elements to be combined and scaled to the needs of you and your farm, rather than forcing a choice between an undersized shed and an oversized, costlier one. Because mixed operations tend to have the most varied storage needs, custom design is particularly valuable here compared with a fixed, off the shelf shed.

3. Know What Your Sheds Needs are

Choosing the right farm shed comes down to matching the design to the farm's actual needs, both now and in the future.

Important things to think about:

• List what needs to be stored: including the tallest and widest pieces of equipment, and expected hay or feed volumes
• Confirm site conditions: soil type, wind zone, and regional weather patterns all affect the engineering required. Our Product Managers can help determine what your site requires.
• Plan for growth: choose a site and a design that allows you to add bays or extend in the future.
• Make sure you compare apples with apples: Your shed is an investment, so invest in durable materials like Australian made steel. Comparing the price alone will cost you more in the long run with building issues, repairs and maintenance.
• Check certification and support: confirm the supplier provides proper structural certification and support from design through to construction. Now Buildings sheds are all certified by an independent engineer and we provide construction support whether you decide to use one of our Referral Builders or build yourself.

It's best to speak to people who know the shed and farming industry back to front. Our Product Managers have years of experience in helping farmers find the right shed for their property.

4. Choose a Durable Shed from a Trusted Shed Company for your Farm Storage

Durability comes down to materials, engineering, and fit for the site, not just upfront cost. When comparing wholesale or kit shed options, farmers should check:

• Steel Quality: Look for steel that is made and manufactured in Australia. Unfortunately, Australian made doesn’t always mean Australian steel. What this can mean is imported steel that has been rolled in Australia. While they can advertise this steel as ‘Australian Made’, the end result is a lower grade and therefore lower quality end product. Ask the shed supplier where each component is made and manufactured, and if in doubt, look for the BlueScope logo. It is important to ask these questions about both the steel framing and the sheeting on your shed. 
• Structural certification: confirm the shed is engineered for the specific wind and load zone of your property and site. Some companies use a one size fits all method, meaning your shed and everything under it is at risk of damage. Ensure your shed is certified by an independent engineer.
• Fixings and fasteners: quality fixings reduce long term maintenance and the risk of failure in high wind events. Ask the supplier where their fasteners are made and manufactured.
• Manufacturer track record: Australian made components with a proven history in agricultural settings perform much better than imported alternatives. Always look for 100% BlueScope Steel, you’ll know it’s the real deal if the supplier uses the LYSAGHT® branded names and colours such as COLORBOND®, CUSTOM ORB® and ZINCALUME®.
• Check testimonials from previous customers: Check the Google Reviews for any company you’re considering spending money with. Ask friends, family and neighbours if they’ve had experience with the company. Unhappy customers are immediate red flags!
• Find out what service they provide after the shed purchase: Will the company help you find a builder? Do they have thorough instructions on how to build the shed? Do they have a good track record with customer service, particularly after the shed purchase?

A lower upfront price on a wholesale shed will end up costing more if it requires early repairs or doesn't hold up to local conditions. A cheap shed kit is just an expensive pile of materials if no one wants to build it.

5. Look for Custom Farm Shed Design

Look for suppliers who specialise in agricultural buildings specifically, rather than general purpose sheds adapted for farm use. The right supplier should offer:

• Site specific structural engineering and certification.
• A variety of shed types with configurable spans, bay sizes, and clearance heights.
• Design input based on the equipment being stored, not a fixed catalogue size.
• Australian made and manufactured steel and components suited to local wind, snow, and weather load standards.

At Now Buildings, we offer custom farm shed kits engineered specifically for machinery and hay storage on Australian agribusiness properties. We offer a wide range of customisable shed designs, ranging from drive through to open bay to fully enclosed sheds. Our entire range is 100% Australian made and manufactured steel and we are certified Australian made and owned.

Check out our most popular farm sheds for machinery here and hay here.

6. Plan for the Future so you Don’t Outgrow your Farm Shed

Most farm sheds are outgrown for one of three reasons: the business changes faster than the building does, the original shed was sized for the equipment on hand at the time rather than future growth, or the layout simply wasn't flexible enough to adapt.

Things to consider when looking at a new farm shed:

• Bigger machinery: modern headers, tractors with front end loaders, and larger hay equipment often exceed the clearance and span of older sheds. When we buy new machinery, it’s often bigger than the one before it.
• Increased yield or livestock size: more hay, feed, or produce means more storage volume is needed each season. Don’t get caught out with nowhere to store your yield!
• Diversification: a farm that adds a new enterprise (cropping, livestock, contracting) usually adds new equipment and storage needs with it
• Poor initial planning: sheds built to suit only the equipment on hand at the time, with no allowance for future expansion

This is why site specific engineering and flexible bay configurations matter and should be considered at the very beginning. A shed designed with future growth in mind avoids the cost and disruption of a shed built too small.

7. Work with Farm Shed Providers that Specialise in Engineered Rural Buildings for Agriculture

Find a shed company that specialises in large sheds for rural, farm and agricultural use, such as Now Buildings. Our Product Managers know farm sheds and can help you find the right shed for your hay storage requirements, machinery clearance, and the structural demands of your site, rather than offering you a cheap, one size fits all shed.

Now Buildings specialises in engineered rural buildings designed for Australian agribusiness, including custom farm shed kits for hay and machinery storage with site specific engineering and high clearance layouts.

8. Build for the Long Term

A farm shed is a long term investment in the productivity and protection of a farm's most valuable assets. Choosing a custom, site engineered shed, rather than a cheap off the shelf shed, means fewer compromises on clearance, layout, and durability down the track.

For agribusiness operators planning hay storage, machinery bays, or general purpose rural buildings, working with a supplier who designs around the specifics of the site and the equipment is the difference between a shed that just fits today and one that keeps working for years to come.

Talk to the team at Now Buildings about a custom farm shed kit designed specifically for your property!