Illinois woman documents disappearing farm silos
By Jess Savage – Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, Harvest Public Media
Harvest Public Media reports that an Illinois woman, Marianne May, has spent six years locating silos built by her grandfather, Frank May, across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Once essential for storing fermented livestock feed, silos helped farmers expand their herds and became common features of Midwestern farms. Many are now being demolished, lost to development or deteriorating with age as agriculture has shifted toward larger-scale, less diversified production.
May’s project records the structures and the family and farming histories connected to them before they disappear.
