Visitors to the 2019 Farm Progress Show near Decatur, Ill., saw history in the making. The Farm Progress Hospitality Tent was no longer a tent. For the first time, the hospitality area was in a building, with a concrete floor and plenty of space. The Hospitality Building occupied the former Morton Buildings display building on the site. Morton unveiled a model farmhouse and accompanying shop across the street.

The model house features a wide-open interior so people who use the design can lay out the interior to best fit their needs. Meanwhile, the shop shows what’s possible today when it comes to shop construction.

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Lisa Bocklage, marketing manager for Morton Buildings, says the shop was purposely finished two different ways inside. One half of the building was left open, while the other half features a lower ceiling with insulation above it.

“The idea was to let visitors see different options for finishing a building into a shop,” Bocklage says. “At the same time, we used some cutaways and other displays to show the construction techniques used to build the structure.”

You can take a virtual tour through the farm shop by clicking through the accompanying slideshow. Be sure to pay attention to the information provided in the captions — helpful details about materials used to build the structure, and how a structure can easily be equipped as an efficient, comfortable farm shop.

Overhead doors in this model building provide easy access for pulling in pickups and equipment. The same style of building could be built to different size specifications.

For more details, contact Morton Buildings Inc., Morton, Ill., at 800-447-7436 or mortonbuildings.com.