A Silo Stores Grain by Keeping Air Out
A silo is a tower for storing grain or fodder. It also means an isolated department.
A silo is a tall structure for storing grain or fermented fodder, and in business jargon an isolated department that does not share information. The agricultural silo works by exclusion: packing fodder tightly and sealing it lets bacteria consume the oxygen, after which fermentation preserves the crop for months. A leaky silo spoils. That sealed quality is exactly what makes the business metaphor apt, and the word was first applied to organisations in the 1980s. Greek *siros* meant a pit for storing corn.
- A grain store. *A farm silo.*
- Fermented fodder store. *Silage.*
- A missile housing. *A missile silo.*
- An isolated department. *Working in silos.*
- Greek — *siros*, a pit. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | silo | A silo. |
| Plural | silos | Silos. |
| Related | silage | Silage. |
| Verb | siloed | Siloed. |
| Spanish | silo | A silo. |
- The grain silo was full.Farm.
- Departments working in silos.Business.
- Silage ferments without air.Process.
How silage works
- Green crop is packed tightly to exclude air
- Remaining oxygen is used up by plant cells and bacteria
- Lactic acid bacteria then ferment the sugars
- The acid preserves the fodder for months
- Any air leak lets moulds spoil the whole mass
Spanish *silo*, from Latin *sirus*, from Greek *siros*, a pit for storing corn.
Why must a silo be airtight?
Because silage is preserved by fermentation, which only works once the oxygen is gone. Air leaks let moulds spoil the crop.
Why do businesses talk about silos?
From the image of a sealed container that nothing passes between, applied to departments from the 1980s.