Design the ultimate farm storage shed with shed designer.

What is a farm storage shed?

A farm storage shed is a steel-framed rural building designed to keep contents dry, ventilated, secure and away from UV. The brief sits between a hay shed (open-front, all about airflow) and a machinery shed (tall eaves, drive-in access). General storage sheds usually run a walled or part-walled envelope, a personnel door for daily access, a roller door wide enough for the biggest pallet or bin, and an eave height set to the tallest stack inside.

ShedDesigner's storage shed templates are built from 100% Australian-made BlueScope steel, clad in Colorbond®, and engineered to AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading for the actual block they sit on (Standards Australia, AS/NZS 1170.2:2021 Structural design actions, Part 2: Wind actions). Pick a template, set your span, length, eave height and which bays are walled, then submit your design once for free comparable quotes from ShedSafe accredited dealers in your region.

Storage shed types: what changes by contents

Different contents push the build in different directions.

General storage

Pallets, drums, spare parts, irrigation gear, seasonal kit. Walled on three or four sides, single roller door per bay, 4 to 5 metre eave so a forklift mast clears comfortably. The default storage build.

Chemical and AgVet storage

Storage of agricultural and veterinary chemicals is regulated under state legislation (for example NSW Pesticides Act 1999 and NSW Pesticides Regulation 2017) and guided by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. Practical specifications usually include a sealed concrete slab with a contained low point, a self-closing door, exhaust ventilation, separation from feed and fertiliser, signage to the SDS, and a bunded floor for liquid concentrates. Talk to your dealer about a dedicated walled bay with these features rather than a shared general-purpose space.

Fertiliser and bulk product storage

Walled storage with the lower internal walls clad in plywood or steel sheeting to a height the front-end loader cannot accidentally clip. Concrete floor sloped to a sump, gable-end ventilation to manage humidity. Bulk fertiliser corrodes hot-dipped galvanised steel faster than dry storage, so dealers often spec heavier ZINCALUME® or stainless fixings in fertiliser bays.

Fodder, feed and grain

Hay sheds and grain sheds have their own dedicated templates (hay sheds and grain storage sheds). For mixed-feed storage at smaller scale, a walled storage shed with a sealed slab handles silage bags, feed pellets and supplements without requiring the open-front geometry of a hay shed.

For broader machinery cover, see also our machinery sheds page or the parent farm designs category.

Slab, doors, ventilation

A storage shed is only as good as its floor and its airflow.

Slab. A 100mm reinforced slab on F72 mesh is the residential-grade floor and works for light dry storage. Step to 125mm on SL72 with edge thickenings for forklift traffic, and to 150mm with engineered reinforcement for a B-double turning circle or heavy-bin storage (Standards Australia, AS 2870 Residential slabs and footings; AS 3600 Concrete structures). Chemical bays add a bunded low point and a sealed coating.

Doors and access. A 3.0 by 3.6 metre roller door clears most pallet-truck and small-forklift traffic. Step to 4.2 by 5.0 metres for a counterbalance forklift carrying full pallets to height. Add a personnel door on the lee side so daily access does not need the roller door to lift.

Ventilation. Mechanical extraction is required by the relevant Pesticides Regulation for chemical storage; passive ridge and gable vents handle most general storage. Humid coastal sites with bulk product benefit from extra gable venting to manage condensation.

Before you get quotes

A storage shed protects the working capital of the farm. Four things worth knowing before quotes go out.

100% Australian-made BlueScope Steel. Across structural framing and Colorbond® cladding. BlueScope's COLORBOND® steel cladding for sheds and garages carries a warranty of up to 15 years against corrosion to perforation, with the exact period set by location and application (BlueScope, Garages & Sheds Warranty). Check your build on BlueScope's online warranty estimator. Coastal sites within 1 kilometre of breaking surf are assessed separately.

ShedSafe accredited dealers, no exceptions. Every dealer on ShedDesigner is third-party assessed under the Australian Steel Institute programme against AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading and the National Construction Code (Australian Steel Institute, ShedSafe Accreditation).

Tax framing for primary producers. Fodder storage assets fall under section 40-548 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, allowing primary producers to deduct the full cost in the year of installation with no dollar cap (Australian Taxation Office, Fencing and fodder storage assets). General storage and chemical sheds typically depreciate as capital works under Division 43 at 2.5 per cent per year over 40 years (ATO, Capital works deductions). Talk to your accountant before you sign so the build aligns with your tax year.

One design, multiple quotes. Your storage shed design goes out to dealers in your region. Every dealer prices the same shed, in the same steel, to the same engineering and the same slab spec, so the quotes you get back are directly comparable.