The Government Granary

By Delbert Trew
Published on June 16, 2009
1 / 2
One of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies offered temporary grain storage in the form of what we called
One of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies offered temporary grain storage in the form of what we called "government granaries." These were pre-manufactured kits, knocked down for shipment and hauled by rail.
2 / 2
Harry and Art Kehm built this granary (featured in the March ’09 issue of Farm Collector). Art ran a lumberyard and hardware store in Shindler, S.D., and Harry ran a hardware store in nearby Harrisburg. The brothers built these prefabricated structures in the 1920s for use as either silos or granaries. When new, the structures sported the letter “K” painted in orange, matching orange paint on the iron trim.
Harry and Art Kehm built this granary (featured in the March ’09 issue of Farm Collector). Art ran a lumberyard and hardware store in Shindler, S.D., and Harry ran a hardware store in nearby Harrisburg. The brothers built these prefabricated structures in the 1920s for use as either silos or granaries. When new, the structures sported the letter “K” painted in orange, matching orange paint on the iron trim.

The greatest changes in agriculture came in the 1930s and ’40s, when farmers converted from horse-and-team power to tractor farming.

After the end of the Dust Bowl and an extended drought, Mother Nature relented and the rains came. No one, especially the farmer and the grain storage industry, was prepared for the abundance of grain harvested.

All farm storage filled quickly and grain elevators overflowed. Railroad cars were scarce, scattered across the Great Plains in the northern grain belt. The big 18-wheeler grain vans of today were yet to be invented. Millions of bushels of grain were piled on the ground in long ricks exposed to the elements.

My father pulled an old, converted horse-drawn grader with a tractor, smoothing off old fencerow ridges of soil on which to pile grain, hoping water would not collect around the ricks. Late each evening, we patrolled the ricks, smoothing out bird or animal tracks to prevent water from collecting in the holes.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388