The word silo comes from the Latin word silus which means cellar. Modern silage started in France in 1877 using underground trenches and the first known trench silo in Wisconsin was constructed the same year. One report states that in 1888 there were 91 silos in the U.S. and 60 of them were in Wisconsin. In 1880 the first above ground silo was constructed in Wisconsin. Early silos were made of fieldstone, wooden staves, or glazed ceramic tiles. These techniques were time consuming and costly and later replaced by poured concrete. In 1904 the first silo census in Wisconsin concluded with a total of 706. In 1915 that number jumped to 55,992 and by 1974 there were 125,000 silos overlooking the dairyland.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:40:35 +0000