Wood Stave Silo Photos Are Peek At The Past

Wood Stave Silo Photos Are Peek At The Past AG WORLD Ag World At one time wooden stave silos were quite common across North America but there aren t many of them left John Day of Randolph Minn recently sent FARM SHOW photos taken long ago of a wooden silo under construction on his farm and of the finished silo The construction photo dates back to 1915 and shows the silo being constructed inside a circular scaffold A 45-ft extension ladder is propped against the scaffold The finished silo photo was taken in 1953 I ve never seen another photo of a wooden silo under construction says Day I got the photos from my cousin who found the photos when he was cleaning out some stuff in his house The silo was 14 ft in diameter and 35 ft high and was put up by the Champion Silo Company but I don t know where they were located At the time the silo was built wooden silos were the new kid on the block My grandfather put up the silo at one end of his barn and used it to feed his dairy cows When the barn burned down in 1954 the silo went with it They used individual tongue and grooved wood staves 2 in thick to build the silo The boards were pressure-treated with creosote to resist silage acids The staves were reinforced by metal hoops û 5/8-in threaded steel rods û spaced 2 to 3 ft apart The silo sat on a concrete and rock foundation but had a dirt floor At one time Day had a wrench that was used to tighten the nuts on the hoops when they got loose but it got lost It looks to me like the scaffold was made from nailed-together 2 by 4 s It looks kind of flimsy and I don t think it would ever be allowed now û OSHA would shut you down before breakfast says Day Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Day 1949 280th St E Randolph Minn 55065 ph 507 645-5040

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