Life Lessons at a Steel

The proverb, "Make hay while the sun shines" is one that dates back to 1546, but the lesson to make the most of an opportunity when it presents itself holds an enduring value to all people, not just farmers.

But that is what Jim Countryman is. He's a farmer, and a grain farmer to boot, although advances in weather forecasting and modern technology afford him greater advantages than those available to his peers living during the 16th century.

Nonetheless, he took a literal approach to the proverb’s figurative meaning in 1991 when he broke ground at his farm in Moville, IA to build an underground trench silo that he used to hold corn silage to feed cattle.

He got good use out of the silo, which is 13' deep, 35' across, and 105' long, for a number of years because there were plenty of cattle milling about that needed to be fed. But times change, and Countryman's silo and many others like it have been sitting empty for a few years, a hollow shell with no purpose.


It occurred to him that wasted space is a wasted opportunity, so he decided to use the empty silo as storage for farming machinery - big farming machinery - specifically, three tractors, a semi truck, a combine, and two combine heads.

"We used to have a canvas cover over it, but many people who did the same had them blow away in windstorms," says Countryman. "I decided to put something up that was better constructed and would last longer."

He did a bit of research on the Internet which led him to SteelMaster Buildings, located in Virginia Beach, VA.

For more than 29 years, the company has manufactured, designed, and supplied pre-fabricated arched steel structures to 40,000 customers located in every state of the United States, in 40 countries, and on six continents around the world.

Michelle Wickum, who is the director of marketing for SteelMaster Buildings, says that their buildings and roofing systems are popular with farmers who depend on the quality of their structures to protect their biggest assets.

"The quality of a SteelMaster Buildings is unrivaled in the marketplace for its rare blend of strength, style, and simplicity, which gives people like Mr. Countryman endless application possibilities" says Wickum. "As a result of our advanced arch technology, there is no need for beams, trusses, or supports. It is just a wide open space, which is perfect for large farming machinery."

Another benefit of a SteelMaster roofing system that Countryman says spoke to him was the cost savings and practicality of being able to construct most of it himself.

"My hired help and I installed the roof," says Countryman. "It took us a week to put it on, and then we had someone else to install the overhead door. I like that the structure is self-supporting and also that everything is precut to size and comes with good blueprints and installation instructions."

Wickum adds that there is no need for Countryman to waste another minute worrying about windstorms.

"SteelMaster steel buildings are engineered to meet the wind loads of their destination," says Wickum. "As opposed to wooden structures, some steel buildings, like the ones sold by SteelMaster Buildings remain maintenance free for a lifetime thanks to the company's use of Galvalume Plus Coating which offers strength, superior corrosion resistance, and an attractive bright appearance that provides excellent heat reflectivity. Each SteelMaster building also comes with a 30-year mill-backed warranty by ArcelorMittal (NYSE MT)."

Countryman says that because there isn’t another building nearby that looks like his now that the SteelMaster roof is in place, he hopes the transformation of his silo will serve to show people what an opportunity they have in SteelMaster.

"They can see that these old silos can now be brought back to good use."

In addition to roofing systems, SteelMaster's steel and metal pre-engineered buildings are designed for a broad range of residential and commercial applications including homes, farm buildings, garages, workshops, agricultural storage, Quonsets, airplane hangars, RV storage, carports, military buildings, commercial warehousing, and industrial storage as well as a wide variety of custom building applications including athletic facilities, retail stores, churches, bus stops, smoke shacks, doggie dorms, and correctional facilities.