A friend shared with me that today's 'Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor' featured an item about the birthday of Franklin H. King, known as "the world's first professor of agricultural physics" and inventor of the upright silo.

I thought that was interesting about King being the inventor of the upright silo, but ag physics? That was a new one to me. Thanks to Google and Wikipedia and other online sources, this is what I learned about ag physics and King:

-King was born on a farm near Whitewater, Wisconsin, in 1848. Forty years later, he was hired by the University of Wisconsin in Madison to start a department of agricultural physics.

-Interested in a wide range of subject matter throughout his career, King made major contributions in research and teaching that dealt with all applications of physics to agriculture. Most attention was given to soil physics. He studied water-holding capacities, moisture requirements of plants, aeration, water movement in soils, movement of groundwater, the drafts of plows and the lifting power of windmills. During his last years in Madison, he also began studies of soil fertility. Over the years, he became known as the father of soil physics in the U.S.

-His most famous legacy was the invention of the cylindrical silo. He was always looking for ways to reduce waste in farming and often thought about the rotted silage in the corners of traditional rectangular silos. So he invented a cylindrical silo. The upright round silo quickly became the standard for farmers across the country, transforming the rural landscape.

-In his later years at U-W, he invented a ventilation system for farm and rural schools buildings that was used in the 1930s, and he experimented with heaters and irrigation in efforts to reduce frost damage to orchards.

-His best known book is entitled "Farmers of Forty Centuries, or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan." The book recounts King's nine-month tour of Asia in 1909 and reports his research. His findings from back then are now regarded as what we know as sustainable agriculture. Accordingly, the book, published in 1911, has been described by Lord Northbourne, the founder of organic agriculture, as a "classic" which "no student of farming or social science can afford to ignore."

-U-W continues to recognize King is various ways, including through the F.H. King Students for Sustainable Agriculture, a student organization that grows various crops that are given away to community residents to raise awareness of sustainable farming and gardening.

From conserving stored crops to conserving the soil, King always had the farmer in his heart and mind. His quest for knowledge is impressive and today, we continue to be the benefactors of his research.