C. John Crill

Crill Chooses a Fabric Covered Building Again

John Crill runs a grain and cow-calf operation near Serene, IA and has been farming there for over 30 years. John purchased his first 40' x 80' (12.2m x 24.4m) Cover-All Legend hay storage building in 2001, which held about three hundred bales. In September of 2003, John fell victim to an act of arson and lost his hay building.

John liked his first fabric building so much that he chose to build another, bigger fabric covered, steel truss building to replace the building he lost. “This is our second fabric building,” says John, “I went with it because I wanted something I could be proud of.” The 50' x 120' (15.2m x 36.5m) fabric building was mounted on 8" x 8" (20cm x 20cm) columns in 24" (60cm) holes, with solid concrete from the bottom to the top of the ground. Both end walls of the building have been left open for easy access from each end of the building.

The Crills have noticed less spoilage in their hay bales caused by weather conditions. Before he purchased a fabric covered building, John had tried other pole type buildings with trusses but did not achieve the results he was looking for. “There wasn't enough air movement in other types of buildings with only having one door.” John found himself moving hay back outside in cases where it wasn't completely cured.

Building Highlights

• The 50' x 120' (15.2m x 36.5m) fabric building can hold approximately 530 six-foot (1.8m) diameter bales.

• The two open ends of the fabric covered building increased maneuverability and airflow.

• John is convinced that the fabric covered building provides better airflow when compared to other building types.

John worked with his local fabric covered building dealer to design the perfect building for his operation. John wanted a building with two open ends to increase maneuverability and airflow, and to make feeding time easier. “The first hay that we put in we pull out and feed first. We work our way from the opposite direction that we put it in from.” His current building can hold approximately 530 six-foot diameter bales, stacked four high.

The natural light and air ventilation were two of the selling features for the Crill family. John was impressed by the quality of the building and his local dealer. “I could tell that this would be a quality building and the local dealership was very easy to do business with.” The building crew installed the posts on the first day, and had the main building erected and covered by the end of the second day.

The Crill's second fabric building is
50' x 120' (15.2m x 36.5m) .

“We have plenty of light, plenty of good air
movement and it's easy to stack in,” says John.

John Crill and sons with their fabric

covered building.

“I like my fabric building well enough that I would

add  another 40 feet to it,' says Crill.

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Cohen Farm
Location: Pittsboro, North Carolina Building Size: 40’ wide x 112’ long Application: Hay & Equipment Storage
Protection a Top Priority for Hay Supplier Cohen Farm, located in Pittsboro, North Carolina, grows some of the most nutrient filled hay in the state of North Carolina. For more than 30 years, Cohen Farm has provided hay to customers throughout a surrounding 60 mile radius. For horse owners to llama operations to dairy producers to sheep and goat farmers, Murray and Esta Cohen provide an invaluable service to a variety of agricultural producers. In the summer of 2002, a severe drought hit the area and devastated the agricultural community. “Livestock feed was scarce to say the least,” says Esta. “It was a situation where the demand far exceeded what we were able to supply. The drought was so bad that farmers were selling off their heifers and cows; there was just nothing to feed them. Hay Hotlines were set up to buy hay and some people were traveling out of state to purchase trailer loads of hay.” Fortunately, the drought was only one year in length which for some seemed like an eternity. “The year following the drought was a boom year. In fact we had so much hay we ran out places to store it,” says Esta. “We had a large surplus of round bales but because we had nowhere to store the bales out of weather exposure, they went bad. We realized then that if we were able to store those round bales for future use, we would be much more prepared for future droughts. Droughts are never predicted and when they do happen, it’s difficult to adjust your farm operation unless you have already prepared beforehand for the possibility of a drought. All it took was a year of drought and a year of seeing tons of hay goes to waste to realize that a fabric covered hay storage building would be a wise investment.” “A good friend of ours highly recommended a fabric covered steel truss building. He bought one for his dairy operation and he couldn’t say enough good things about the building and the people he bought it from,” says Esta. The Cohen’s purchased a 40 foot wide by 112 foot long fabric building which is the ideal size to store 500 hay bales. The building is also used to store all sorts of farm machinery such as a stack wagon, back hoe, tractors, goose neck trailer, etc. “In an average year, we produce 800 - 1300lb round bales, and 5000 – 70lb square bales of high quality hay,” says Esta. “We take care of our land, we don’t use pesticides or herbicides; the only soil enhancer we use is composted chicken manure. We stand behind what we sell and our clients know that, so the more we can control the quality of product we sell, the better it is for the customer and for us. We are thrilled with our fabric building. It’s an investment we should have made years ago.”   "All it took was a year of drought and a year of seeing tons of hay go to waste to realize that a fabric covered hay storage building would be a wise investment." Esta Cohen		The 40’ wide x 112’ long fabric building is ideal for storing 500 round hay bales.   “We are thrilled with our fabric building. "It’s an investment we should have made years ago,” says Esta Cohen.   The fabric covered steel truss building allows Cohen Farm to reduce spoilage and prepare for future droughts.   40’ wide x 112’ long fabric covered building
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