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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"39268","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","alt":"Why are barns painted red?"}}]]If you’ve never driven through the Midwest on a sunny fall day, you’re missing out! Fall brings crisp air, harvest-ready corn stalks, and fiery red, orange, yellow and brown leaves, making a perfect backdrop to our farmer’s red barns. Occasionally, you might see a barn in its natural wood color, but most of the barns we see are red. Why? We found out from the Farmer’s Almanac.
This tradition dates back hundreds of years ago, long before a farmer could go to a local paint store and choose a favorite color of paint. At the time, farmers were looking to protect and seal the wood.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, they used “linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant.”
However, it wasn’t quite enough. To properly protect the wood from fungi and mosses, farmers turned to ferrous oxide, or better known as … rust. Plentiful and effective, rust was mixed into the linseed oil turning its orange color to red.
As time went on and paint became available, red continued to be a farmer’s barn color of choice.
Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why?" questions? Catch up on all of the past "Whys" on the blog!
