Different Types of Farm Storage Buildings Explained

Are you looking for a new shed or farm storage building to protect your assets? 

Whether you’re after an implement shed to store your large machinery or an animal shelter to protect your herd from extreme weather conditions, choosing the right design of shed is important to help protect the things most important for keeping your farm running.  

With so many different farm buildings available it can be difficult to determine which shed is right for you. Although farm buildings may look the same from the outside, it’s important to take a look at the design features and how they can best benefit your operations. Our clearspan shed designs use structural steel bird-proof rafters, making them ideal long-lasting farm buildings. 

In this article, we help to make the decision-making process a little easier by outlining the Alpine Buildings range of agricultural farm sheds, so you can decide on the shed type that's best for your needs. 

Types of Farm Sheds for Contractors 

For farm contractors, their machinery is their livelihood.  Contractor sheds need to be secure and spacious to keep operations running smoothly. Let’s look at a few of the common contractor shed types. 

Implement Storage

No matter the size of your operation, farm machinery is a big investment, so keeping your assets well looked after and protected is a high priority. Providing storage for machinery can prove difficult without purpose-built large farm sheds, with some newer equipment being too big  to fit inside older storage sheds. And with New Zealand’s temperamental weather, it’s vital to have a durable, safe and secure shed to store valuable machinery. An Alpine Buildings large machinery shed ticks all of the boxes when it comes to the ultimate needs and specifications for storing your hard-working farm machinery. The team at Alpine designs your shed around your specific requirements, making sure your implement shed will be fit for purpose for years to come. 

An implement storage shed features clearspans, high-studs and extra-wide bays allowing large machinery and implements to be stored away safely. These large-scale farm implement sheds are designed with popular size range of 15m, 18m or 20m clearspans, provide more usable space and less risk of damage being caused to the structure from machinery, and the clearspan rafters also provide a bird proof environment protecting your machinery from droppings and nests. 

If you are needing an implement shed with a clearspan of more than 20m, Alpine’s structural steel portal shed range is a great option providing clearspans from 20 - 50 meters.  

HAY SHEDS

Hay is an important resource on many farms, which is why purpose-built sheds play such an important role in storing it correctly. We’ve previously talked about the 5 different styles of hay sheds available and the benefits of these depending on the amount of hay you will be storing and the amount of time you will be storing it for. There are many things to consider when building hay and straw storage sheds, with simple design changes having an impact on the quality of the hay, and how much hay can be efficiently stored. Designing your shed to suite your specific bale size can significantly increase capacity, reduce wasted space and result in productivity gains when loading and unloading the shed.  

Alpine Buildings provide a wide range of hay sheds with wide spans and large bay sizes perfect for machinery loading and unloading.  Alpine Buildings’ steel rafters also provide the added benefit of ‘Zero-bird-perch’ features to ensure birds don’t have a place to nest, eliminating the spread of lice and other deseases in your valuable hay. 

Whether you’re planning new farm sheds for a growing operation or upgrading existing storage, an Alpine Buildings hay shed is designed around your needs, so you can protect your bales from wind and rain to reduce waste and preserve quality. 

Animal Shelters

New Zealand weather can be unpredictable and extreme. From soaring temperatures in summer to well below zero in winter and torrential rain; ensuring you have adequate shelter to protect your animals is essential.  

An Alpine Buildings shed has you covered with a wide range of durable and long-lasting kit set animal shelters, designed to suit each farmer's specific requirements, herd size, and the way they operate. All Alpine Building sheds are designed to suit your site location, ensuring easy access for animals and plenty of efficient airflow. A clearspan design limiting the number of internal poles and beams within the shed makes for more usable space for the animals to freely move around.

Hangars

If you’re looking to store a recreational plane or a fleet of helicopters, it’s important to  Made using structural steel rafter and lintel system with clearspan openings of up to 20m  Alpine Buildings’ hangars are designed to give your aircraft the best possible protection. With no knee or apex braces, the fully clearspan interior makes it very easy to move aircraft in and out of the shed  - and the structural steel rafter and lintel system lets you choose whatever hangar door you like. Additionally, every hangar is birdproof, keeping your aircraft protected from acidic bird-droppings. 
 
There are many things to consider when picking the best type of hangar to store your aircraft. All Alpine Buildings clearspan hangars offer a rafter system without knee or apex braces to ensure maximum interior space; design flexibility to suit your needs and wants; and a robust structure that ensures the safety and protection of your aircraft. The use of hot-dip galvanised structural steel rafters means your hangar is built to last, standing up to the elements and keeping your aircraft protected for years to come.  

The clearspan design of a hangar gives you the opportunity to store additional large equipment or double as a workshop to increase the functionality of your investment.  

Workshops and Lockups

The dream for many is to extend their storage space on-site and protect highly valuable equipment in a secure and bird-free workshop. The Alpine Buildings range of workshops and lockups ensures plenty of space with sheds ranging from 9m to 24m wide, custom heights, bay sizes and  lengths available, ensuring your workshop is tailored for its intended use. 
 
Previously discussing the 10 things to think of when building your contractor/workshop shed, Alpine Buildings understand that every individual will require a workshop and lockup dependent on the purpose and intended use! Alpine Buildings provides custom designs and options available including roller doors as well as personnel doors, and with the option to build with or without a concrete floor pad. The addition of clearlight panels can be added to any workshop for maximising natural light and Alpine’s bird proof design prevent birds perching and nesting in the roof cavity, keeping your valuable storage items free of corrosive bird droppings. 
 
And while workshops are known to be the home of loud and busy machinery and equipment, the timber pole and framing design Alpine Buildings uses makes for a noticeably quieter space. Where all-steel designs rely on hollow structural sections that conduct and amplify sound, timber absorbs it instead — so noise from machinery or bad weather is significantly reduced. Combined with better temperature control, that makes a timber shed a much more comfortable place to work. 

Bulk storage and Produce Sheds

Whether it’s used to keep your bulk goods dry and clean, or for storing produce after harvesting , Alpine Buildings bulk storage and produce sheds can be tailored to your specific requirements. 

Ranging from 9m to 20m wide Alpine Buildings bulk storage sheds include fertiliser bins, grain storage, hay sheds, packhouses and produce sheds, all built with custom heights and bay sizes. The clearspan structure system provides more usable space resulting in increased capacity and less wasted floor area. The bird-proof roof design ensure there’s no space for birds to perch or nest in the roof area  providing a more hygenic storage facility.  

Forestry sheds

Many types of forestry machinery are often too large to fit inside a typical shed A top priority for any forestry owner is the protection of their expensive equipment with a wide range of heavy plant machinery including loaders, skidders, excavators and more. 
 
Alpine Buildings custom-designed forestry sheds are built to accommodate the varying sizes of forestry equipment at the size required and within specification. With height and width a top priority for most forestry machinery, the clearspan design ensures machinery can be loaded and locked away securely when not in use, and without having to be folded up or dodge extra interior knee or apex bracing. 
 
Alpine Buildings forestry sheds are also ideal to be used as an on-site workshop for times when repairs and maintenance are needed. The inclusion of timber framing helps to reduce the noise caused by repair work. We had the pleasure of working with one of Marlborough's forest harvesting businesses - read about this forestry project and how their Alpine forestry shed works for them here. 

Which Shed Type Suits Which Farm Use?

Whether you’re storing machinery, protecting livestock, or expanding produce storage, choosing the right farm shed design can make day-to-day operations more efficient. Different farming operations require different layouts, access points, heights and clearances, which is why Alpine Buildings prefers to design each shed for your specific use case. 

• Implement sheds → large machinery and equipment  
• Hay sheds → hay storage and easy machinery access  
• Animal shelters → herd homes, composting barns, feed pads
• Bulk storage sheds → produce, grain and fertiliser  
• Forestry sheds → oversized machinery and workshop use  
• Workshops and lockups → secure asset storage and workshop area for maintenance 

Find the Right Farming Shed for Your Property

Alpine has designed, manufactured and delivered over 5,000  farming sheds across New Zealand, over the past 30+ years. Whether you are looking for an implement storage, aircraft hangar, or animal shelter we work with you to ensure you receive the most efficient design. If you’re unsure on which farm shed is best for you,  reach out to  the team  by clicking the button below. 

FAQs

What size farm shed do I need?

The right size farming shed depends on how you plan to use the building. Large farm sheds designed for machinery and implement storage typically require wider clearspans and higher stud heights, while hay or animal shelters may prioritise wider bays, airflow and accessibility. Alpine Buildings can customise shed dimensions to suit your property and operational requirements. 

What is the benefit of clearspan sheds on farms? 

Clearspan sheds provide large open interior spaces without internal support columns or knee braces. This makes them ideal for farm sheds used for storing large machinery, hay, produce or forestry equipment, while also improving access and reducing the risk of accidental damage when moving equipment. 

Can Alpine Buildings design custom farming sheds? 

Yes. Alpine Buildings designs custom farming sheds tailored to individual farm operations across New Zealand. Whether you need an implement shed, animal shelter, workshop, , or new farm sheds for expanding operations, each building can be customised with different spans, bay sizes, heights, doors and additional features to suit your needs.