{"id":75827,"date":"2025-04-25T03:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T07:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=75827"},"modified":"2025-04-23T11:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T15:51:05","slug":"your-farm-silo-field-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/your-farm-silo-field-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Silos Used For?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are silos used for? F<\/span>or millennia, agricultural civilizations have realized that the ability to store excess grain produced by bumper crops provides a safety buffer against lean years, or even just a long winter. The most famous ancient account of this idea is probably the biblical story in Genesis 41<\/a>, in which Joseph advises Egypt to stockpile grain so that it may survive the seven years of predicted famine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, remains of ancient Egyptian storehouses are still in existence today. The same is true of those from ancient Greece, the Middle East, and North and South America.<\/p>\n

Roman records indicate that pits stored grain in northern Africa. And the word \u201csilo\u201d actually comes from the Greek word \u201csiros,\u201d meaning \u201ca pit to hold grain.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are Silos Used For? An Important Innovation<\/b><\/h2>\n

What are silos used for? They do much more than just hold dry grain or seed. They\u2019re also responsible for one of the more important inventions in the history of modern agriculture: silage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Developed through experiments in the 1800s, silage is essentially a foliage crop\u2014perhaps an entire corn stalk, perhaps an entire alfalfa plant, perhaps something else\u2014that has been finely chopped and then stored while the moisture content is still high, somewhere near 60 percent. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because of the moisture content, silage maintains a higher energy and protein level than dried forage (hay). This fact has made it possible for dairy farmers to keep cows in reliable milk production even during the winter.<\/p>\n

But one caveat exists. You need a way to keep the silage from spoiling.<\/p>\n

When farmers make hay, the key to preservation is to ensure low moisture content and to keep the hay dry. But farmers put silage up fresh, so the key to long-term silage storage involves keeping oxygen levels to a minimum.<\/span><\/p>\n

The silo is the key to this process. In essence, silage is pickled. <\/span><\/p>\n

Storing the silage in the low-oxygen environment of the silo encourages anaerobic microbes to ferment the forage product, but in a way that ruminants\u2014including sheep, goats and, significantly, cattle\u2014can still digest.<\/p>\n

In theory, the fermentation process and the silo will protect the silage from rot. Silage is an excellent invention. Over the years, there have been a number of different solutions to the silage storage unit: the modern silo.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a field guide approach and examine some of the modern (post-1900) silo types you might discover while exploring rural America.<\/p>\n

\"stone
Paulette Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tower Silos<\/b><\/h2>\n

Farmers experimented with silage for a few decades in the 1800s, mostly using pits or square structures constructed inside existing barns. It wasn\u2019t until the late 1880s that John Steele, a member of the Wisconsin legislature, constructed the first round tower silo, dubbed the \u201cSteele Silo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Agricultural scientist Franklin Hiram King of the Wisconsin Experimental Station furthered the innovation with his \u201cKing Silo\u201d in 1891.<\/span><\/p>\n

The round tower silo is what most people have in mind when they think of a silo. Like lighthouses dotting a shoreline, tower silos have something of a charming appeal.<\/p>\n

Even people who don\u2019t know their use instantly recognize them. Plus, they\u2019re iconic symbols of country life.<\/p>\n

Round silos are beneficial for several reasons. For one thing, a circle is strong, especially when reinforced by steel bands the way most silos are. <\/span><\/p>\n

All the weight of the grain in the silo (think of it as a form of pressure) pushes outward on the sides and tries to spill in all directions. A circle helps to prevent that. Also, the contents of early square silos suffered from extensive spoilage in the corners. <\/span><\/p>\n

But round tower silos aren\u2019t without their downsides. The very fermentation process that preserves silage can create gases that are unhealthy and hazardous to humans. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some silos, particularly glass\/steel silos, are very effective at keeping oxygen levels to a minimum. This can present a danger to anyone entering the silo for maintenance or inspection. Silage can also be a fire danger. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this hasn\u2019t prevented tower silos from achieving widespread use.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can fins tower silos built using many different construction methods, some of which went in and out of style over the years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Read more:<\/strong> Here are 4 ways to use silage tarps in vegetable production.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Wood<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wood silos were popular up until around 1900, when they began to be replaced by other materials that were more resistant to deterioration from silage seepage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, they\u2019re more octagonal or polygon-shaped than round. That’s likely because such shapes are easier to construct out of wood. <\/span><\/p>\n

The wooden silos that <\/span>still exist look quite beautiful and interesting\u2014fascinating pieces of a moment in rural history that quickly disappeared.<\/p>\n

\"wood
William Garrett\/Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Masonry<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

You might also see vintage silos of masonry construction, such as stone or brick. Some of these are quite attractive and unique.<\/p>\n

These are often historical in nature, constructed during the experimental age of silos, when farmers sought alternatives to wood, but before concrete and glass\/steel silos became the norm.<\/p>\n

The cost of constructing a stone or brick silo was influenced by the need to hire masons for the work. But if the region was rich in stones, the material was readily available.<\/p>\n

Concrete<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Concrete was soon found to be an excellent construction material. And many classic tower silos are constructed of concrete walls with metal roofs. You\u2019ll discover a few subvarieties here:<\/p>\n