ADDING a canopy to a grain and cottonseed storage shed has delivered one Queensland farming operation about 30 per cent more storage space.
And this extra shelter has provided flexibility to their broadacre operation through protection for machinery when the shed is filled with commodities.
For Darling Downs farmers Brett and Liza Crothers, Breza Farming, adding a canopy to their Entegra grain shed, was not only practical, it also made economic sense.
“A canopy, it is a cheapish cover,” Brett said.
“We’ve got the wall already there, so it was quite easy, we thought ‘we may as well make use of what we have got there’ and the shed eaves were high enough because they were designed to have enough clearance for all our machinery.”
The canopy has been used as “short term storage” for machinery if the shed is filled with grain or fertiliser and it’s also doubled as a workspace when they’ve needed to escape the weather.
Brett said protecting machinery was vital for its resale value.
“If it weathers, it loses its value and machinery is really expensive now,” he said.
“If it’s protected it definitely has a higher resale value at the end, when you want to turn it over, whether that’s $5,000, $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 – it can all add up.”
The Entegra shed is 24 metres by 48 metres and 7.5 metres high. The canopy is 8 metres wide and runs the entire length of the shed.
The shed has yet to store cottonseed, but Brett said it housed grain – supplementing their on-farm silo storage – and enabled them to “play the fertiliser market”.
“It has provided us with a simple option for fertiliser – if we can truck it out of Brisbane – to get it cheap,” he explained.
“When we do this, we need to do it quickly. That’s why we dump it on the floor (of the shed) and can then get it out easily.”
Adding this shed will also provide the Crothers with improved grain marketing capabilities.
“We are late harvesting our winter crop, for Queensland time,” Brett said.
“The prices have normally dropped-off by the time we harvest, we are normally harvesting at the lowest price in the market. So now, we will store it until – hopefully – the price improves.”
It will be a similar plan for storing and marketing cottonseed.
Breza Farm has many sheds but this new Entegra storage facility is the largest.
It’s designed with Taperflow™ guttering to efficiently capture rainfall and this is stored in two large tanks.
This will replace bore water for spraying.