University of Wisconsin - Extension

Many people would be surprised to know the same progressive spirit that characterizes Wisconsin's political history also colors its agricultural past -- especially in the area of agricultural technology.

"During the Progressive era, college agricultural experiment stations across the country promulgated scientific agriculture, or 'book farming,'" explains Peggy Beedle, a landscape historian and author of the publication. "In Wisconsin, this movement focused on the development of an efficient method of storing winter fodder for the burgeoning dairy industry. Silos were the result," Beedle continued.

Silos allowed farmers to engage in year-round dairying, laying the groundwork for the state's thriving dairy industry.

"Wisconsin has more silos than any other state, and they can rightly be viewed as symbols of the dairy industry's development," Beedle added. "These structures chronicle the geographic range of Wisconsin dairying and graphically illustrate the changes in farm buildings over the years, serving as markers of the state's cultural heritage," she said.

A new publication explores the historical significance of silos, "Silos: an Agricultural Success Story." The publication is fourth in the series, "Giving Old Barns New Life."

"Almost anywhere you go in Wisconsin, you'll see a timber-framed barn," said Chuck Law, UW-Madison/Extension specialist and advisor to the Wisconsin Barn Preservation Initiative. "Hallmarks of the state's rural landscape, barns serve as tangible reminders of our agricultural past and provide a major source of beauty in the rural countryside."

Today, however, urban growth, roadway expansion, poor upkeep and new agricultural construction methods threaten many historic farmsteads.

As part of their effort to save Wisconsin's legacy of farm buildings, UW-Extension, the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin are pleased to tell the story of historic barns and farmsteads in the "Giving Old Barns New Life" publication series.

Other publications in the series cover the history of barns and farm structures, the reasons why different ethnic groups developed their own barn styles and the unique beauty associated with old farm buildings.

Other titles in the series include:

· Ethnic History and Beauty of Old Barns

· Wisconsin's Changing Farmsteads

· Barns and Barn Preservation -- A Bibliography

To view these publications online, go to http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pubs">www.uwex.edu/ces/pubs. For more information about Wisconsin's barn restoration program, visit http://www.uwex.edu/lgc/barns/barns.htm">www.uwex.edu/lgc/barns/barns.htm.

To order these publications, mail or contact Cooperative Extension Publications at 45 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53715, (877) 947-7827.