Farming In Steel Buildings

Steel buildings have been popular as barns on farms and ranches for decades, but these days, there’s a new way to use them on farms. With the rising popularity of hydroponics for growing food and flowers, many farmers are actually farming inside steel buildings.

Essentially, hydroponics is a method for growing plants without using soil or dirt. This allows farmers to grow crops regardless of the quality of their soil and without spending backbreaking days amending soil to be more hospitable to the crops. Hydroponic growing in steel buildings requires less space, allowing farmers to grow more food.

Steel buildings are the ideal choice for setting up a large-scale hydroponics setup. Quonset buildings and similar structures provide fully unencumbered interior space that can be arranged in any way you want. There are inexpensive options for hanging pipes, fans and lights overhead to provide air and water circulation and maximum growing light. For those who prefer natural sunlight, there are options to add windows and skylights to steel buildings. Some manufacturers will even work with the farmer to create glass, plastic or fiberglass roofs and walls for hoop-frame metal buildings.

Benefits of Steel Buildings for Hydroponic Farming

Many of the traditional benefits of steel buildings translate very well to hydroponic farming. First, they’re far more affordable than any other type of building. Steel is the least expensive building material, and the construction methods used with steel buildings reduce the construction costs to well below what you’d pay to erect a traditional building.

In addition, steel is an ecologically friendly building material. Most steel buildings are created with recycled steel, so you’re not using more of the Earth’s natural resources. Because they’re weather tight, steel buildings are easy to insulate, making them more energy-efficient as well. Since they require little maintenance – no need for repainting for up to 20 years, for example – you’re not polluting the air with paint fumes, and if you should decide to demolish your steel building you can simply take the pieces apart and send them to the recycler, or sell your building so that it can be used by someone else.

Steel structures are structurally stable in the most extreme weather conditions because they are precision engineered to meet or exceed the building standards for the region in which they will be built. They’re also extremely flexible. As your farm and your business grows, your steel building can grow with you. Metal buildings can be easily and affordably expanded.

If you’re looking for the ideal solution to space for hydroponic gardening or farming, consider how much you could grow inside custom-engineered steel buildings. With the right decisions, you could have an entire, profitable farm that fits inside a barn.