As the organic foods movement and sustainable agriculture gain momentum, small farms are moving back into the spotlight. In addition to supporting family owned businesses, small farms make up for what they lack in scale with flexibility.
Instead of planting the same nutrient consuming crops over and over again, also known as a monoculture, small farms often leverage the full potential of their lands with crop rotation and soil replenishment. For example, corn sucks nutrients out of soil while legumes like peas and beans replenish them. Cycling from one crop to another every ensures the soil remains fertile. Crop rotation also reduces the need for herbicides and insecticides because it disrupts the settlement of unwanted species.
Small farmers must maintain a wide scale vision of what’s happening on their farms, and often adjust their strategies to optimize their yields and to respond to external environmental factors. The nice thing about having a portable storage shed instead of stick-built one, is that it can move with the small farmer’s steady rotations and adjustments.
Greens like kale and lettuce put small farmers on a tight timeline. The moment its harvested, it begins to wilt. A portable storage shed with insulation, and perhaps climate control powered by a generator buys farmers time to get crops harvested and then sent to market. As temperature sensitive harvests rotate through the land, farmers can strategically relocate their portable cold rooms to be close to the crop.
Many crops are best germinated in a warm shed to speed up the process and protect seedlings from pests. Like the cold rooms, relocating germination sheds adjacent to the crop’s field can save farmers trips back and forth across their property as they plant seedlings.
Ranchers that raise grass-fed cattle also keep their eyes on soil management. While many ranchers rely on hay for the winter months, a growing number are attempting and succeeding to maintain year-round grazing in warm areas like Texas with land management.
Manure from grazing cattle can be strategically collected and spread to replenish top soil and restore grazing land in depleted soil. However, that manure is also at risk for creating nutrient pollution if rain washes it into the wrong place at the wrong time. A portable storage shed can be placed conveniently for the initial collection and relocated, manure and all, to wherever its needed on the farm.
On average, tractors only get six miles to the gallon. Instead of driving the tractor back and forth across the farm, it may make sense to save gas and house a tractor in a portable storage shed placed close to the action. 40-foot shipping containers converted into storage sheds also have ample room for other tools like chain saws.
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