PAST

TOWER SILOS AND I.S.A.

History of the Tower Silo

In order to really understand the importance of a Tower Silo for feed storage, one must look back at the history of this wonderful storage vehicle.  The tower silo was instrumental in the past because the concept of using gravity for compaction worked best then, and still works best today.   NOTHING WORKS LIKE A SILO !!

  • 10,000 BC farming practices started.
  • 3,500 BC domestic sheep and cattle and grains.
  • 1700-1800 BC first stone silos – below ground silos build around 985 BC.

First recorded silo built in America was by Fred Hatch of Spring Grove, Illinois in 1873, the first above ground silo in Wisconsin was built at Clinton in 1877 by Byron Snyder.

 

History of the International Silo Association

At the turn of the 20th century, the Industrial Revolution was well under way.  Larger and more serviceable silos were being built and new forms and materials for silo construction were being researched and developed.  A survey taken in 1885 listed 2,000 silos in the United States.  The survey conducted in 1916 listed a total of 330,160 silos in 48 states.

In 1907, the wood stave silo companies formed the National Silo Manufacturers and Jobbers Association.  They organized and held their first meeting in Chicago.  There were twenty-eight companies represented at that first meeting, including several silo filler manufacturers.

The International Silo Association was known by nine different names over the years – as follows:

  • 1907  National Silo Manufacturers & Jobbers Association
  • 1912  National Silo Association
  • 1913  Wood Stave Silo Manufacturing Association (ended 1919- joined “Stave”)
  • 1917  National Cement Stave Silo Association
  • 1922  National Silo Research Institute
  • 1929  National Silo Research Council
  • 1933  National Association of Silo Manufacturers
  • 1956  National Silo Association
  • 1979  International Silo Association

As its history will attest, the Silo Association has been about research and development, code of conduct, building standards, safety, ethical business practice, and much more.  The association saw a need and offers its membership a valuable service that continues today.