Short answer: USDA farm building plans are standardized construction drawings published from roughly the 1940s to the 1980s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the land-grant universities' Cooperative Extension services. As U.S. government works they are generally in the public domain, and many originals can still be found free in university extension archives. What you won't usually find is a version that's easy to build from today.
Where they came from
Extension services existed to put university research into farmers' hands. Agricultural engineers drew plans for the buildings a working farm needed: poultry houses, hog shelters, feeders, gates, cold frames, greenhouses and storage bins. The plans were shared between states through a cooperative plan exchange, which is why one sheet can carry a USDA plan number and credit Maryland, Oregon or West Virginia. County agents handed them out, often for the cost of printing.
Are they free?
The original drawings are public domain, and many survive as scans in university and extension archives, free to download. If you're comfortable reading a 1960s engineering sheet, they're a good resource.
Why most people don't build from the originals
- One dense sheet. A whole building on a single page of tiny hand lettering, often a poor scan.
- Old lumber. Rough-sawn and "full" sizes, plus materials like creosote that aren't sold any more.
- No sequence. The sheet shows the finished building, not the order to build it in.
- Imperial only, with no metric.
What a restored edition adds
Each Square & Furrow plan keeps the original drawing, restored and reproduced in full, and adds a dimensioned front view, a materials list in today's actual lumber sizes with metric equivalents, a hardware schedule, a cut list and illustrated step-by-step assembly. Every dimension is checked against the original sheet. Each product page also has an interactive tools-and-materials checklist so you can see what you need before you start. More about how we work →
Frequently asked
Can I legally sell a building made from a USDA plan?
Yes. The plans exist to be built, and you can sell what you build.
Are the old designs still good?
The structural ideas hold up: braced gates, pole framing, skid-mounted shelters you can move. What has changed is materials. Use pressure-treated lumber instead of creosote, and modern screws and hardware.