Caring for animals is a huge responsibility. Whether you’re a full-time farmer, a dedicated homesteader, or just someone who loves keeping animals on your property, managing feed is an important job. Improper storage can not only lead to a waste of resources but can also leave you scrambling for a way to provide for your animals. Here, we’ll explore a few simple animal and livestock feed storage tips to assist you.

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Know the Enemy

Before you can properly plan your feed storage methods, it’s important to understand what you’re up against. What is it that threatens to ruin your feed, anyway? While there are plenty of potential threats, there are three that stand out:

• Moisture. If your supply of animal feed gets wet, it will quickly be ruined, and you will need to dip into your budget to replace what was lost.
• Heat. If your feed gets too hot during the middle of a scorching summer, unwanted organic growth can occur—and again, the feed will be ruined.
• Pests. Critters are always looking for food, and the supply that is meant for your animals is an easy target. Whatever those unwanted pests are able to eat is going to be lost, as well as what might be damaged if they are living in the storage area.

Start with the Right Structure

Without a doubt, the best thing you can do for your animal and livestock feed storage needs is to have a building on your property that is suited for this task. Steel barns, carports, and other agricultural buildings work perfectly for many reasons. First of all, these buildings are affordable compared to other options, so they are viable for a range of buyers. Also, when you work with American Steel Carports, Inc. to build your structure, you can use our Build & Price tool to customize the design.

Having a quality storage facility is key because it takes care of so many of your concerns all at once. For instance, if you build a metal barn to store feed, you will have a dry place to keep your feed. There will be no need to worry about rain or snow causing problems with the feed you have stored. Likewise, the feed will be out of the sun and should stay cool enough to avoid unwanted growth. Also, if you have a door on your barn and you keep it closed tightly when the space is not actively in use, you’ll be able to keep many pests away from your food supply.

Store in Secure Containers

When possible, store your animal feed in containers that are fitted with tight lids. This is another step that will keep moisture away, so you can avoid damage from rain if you store in a carport that has open sides. Also, even if you work to keep pests away, it’s likely that some little critters will manage to get near the food—but a tight-fitting lid can keep them at bay. Consider using this solution when storing relatively small quantities of feed, as it might not be feasible for a large supply.

Buy an Appropriate Quantity

Speaking of a large supply, it’s important to only buy as much feed as you can use before the expiration date arrives. Everything has a useful lifespan, and overbuying means you will wind up wasting some of your purchase even if you store the product perfectly.

In addition to buying the right quantities of feed, remember to rotate your supply wisely. By using the older feed first, rather than the feed you just purchased, you can work through the supply without letting any of it get too close to the expiration date. This is another benefit of having a large, secure metal building on your property. With plenty of indoor space to work with, you can more easily rotate your feed without running out of room.

Work With American Steel Carports, Inc.

We hope these animal and livestock feed storage tips assist you. Ready to get started planning your own metal structure for storage? American Steel Carports, Inc. is the perfect partner for this project. Explore our Build & Price tool to see the countless possibilities for your new structure!