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Grand Rapids, MI · est. 2007
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Agriculture & horticulture

Used IBCs on the farm — eight tested setups.

Most of the totes we ship into rural counties end up in one of eight roles. Here's the short version of each.

Start the conversation

Same form, every page. Tell us once — we route it to whoever's closest to your tote.

01Who you are
02Where you are
03What you need
⟁ Replies within one business day · no phone calls

Bulk water storage

Field water for crew breaks, hand-wash stations, equipment refill. Grade B/C is fine.

Livestock water

Frost-resistant lid, float valve, hose-bib. Pairs with a gravity-fed trough.

Liquid fertilizer mixing

Reconditioned tote with a recirculation pump becomes a 275-gal mixing station.

Drip-irrigation header

Tote elevated 5 ft creates enough head for 1.5 acres of low-pressure drip line.

Rainwater harvest

Top-cut with screened inlet under barn downspout. Each tote captures ~275 gal per 1" rain on a 1400 sq ft roof.

Compost tea brewer

Aerated tote with valved bottom. Brews 250 gal of actively aerated compost tea per cycle.

Pesticide / herbicide hold

Grade C tote dedicated to one chemistry, valve color-coded. Replace gaskets at every refill.

Emergency hold (manure / leachate)

Grade D tote as overflow buffer for slurry pits or silage leachate during high-flow events.

Sourcing for ag is a price question.

For non-potable ag use, Grade C or D totes are usually the right call — same tank, lower price, no functional difference for water, slurry, or fertilizer. We discount truckload pickups for farm cooperatives.

On the farm, in detail

Practical setups our ag customers run.

Livestock watering loop. A Grade D 275 elevated on a small steel frame becomes a gravity-fed trough header for up to a 40-head herd. Float valve at the outlet, frost-resistant lid for winter, hose-bib for manual draw. Total parts cost: about $215 including tank.

Field crew water station. Grade C 275 on the truck bed of a pickup, with a 12V transfer pump and a coiled 50-foot hose. Used for hand-wash, equipment refill, dust suppression in late summer. Refills from a hydrant or yard line in under 20 minutes.

Fertilizer mixing tank. Grade B 275 reconditioned with a recirculation pump becomes a 275-gallon mixing station for liquid fertilizer concentrates. Color-code by chemistry (one chemistry per tank) and replace gaskets at every refill.

Drip irrigation header. Tote elevated 5 feet creates enough gravity head for about 1.5 acres of low-pressure drip line. Add a small inline filter and a pressure regulator. Sized for a typical row-crop or orchard configuration.

Rainwater capture from a barn roof. Top-cut Grade D tote with a screened inlet under the downspout. A 1,400 sq ft barn roof yields about 875 gallons per 1 inch of rain — enough to refill the tank three times in a normal month.

Key takeaways

If you only read one section.

  1. 01Grade C and D win for ag — non-potable doesn't need food-contact wash.
  2. 02Bulk pickup discounts kick in at 20 tanks. Farm co-ops often combine orders to hit this threshold.
  3. 03Float valves and frost-resistant lids are the two accessories most ag buyers underspec.
  4. 04Color-code totes by chemistry. Cross-contamination is the most common cause of fertilizer line problems.
  5. 05Stack one-high outdoors. UV degrades HDPE — tarp if you can't store under cover.
Common questions

Agriculture questions.

Is a Grade D tote safe for livestock water?
Yes, for non-potable livestock use. The prior fill is documented at intake — we don't sell tanks with previously hazardous or pesticide-residue fills for livestock applications regardless of grade.
Can I use a tote for pesticide concentrate?
Yes — dedicate a single tank to a single pesticide SKU, color-code the cage, replace gaskets at every refill. Don't move pesticide between chemistries on the same tank. We carry Grade C tanks priced for this.
What's the cheapest tank you sell into ag?
Grade D 275-gallon, $65–$95 per unit. Bulk pickup discount can drop it further at 20+ tanks.
Will you deliver to a farm?
Yes — we'll deliver to any rural address inside Tier 1 (MI/IN/IL/OH/WI). Tail-lift trucks are available for sites without a dock.