Comments on: Why Are Farmers Barns Almost Always Painted Red?

By: How to plant Flowers

How to plant Flowers — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

actually they made red paint from blood and milk, very cheap for the farmer,and good use of resources. It is now just a quaint custom.

By: T C

T C — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

attract cows,i dont know.

By: forest lover

forest lover — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

Johnson has discovered some answers to why so many barns are red. While she found many white ones in her travels, plus others without paint weathered to gray, the enduring vision of the American barn is in red.
“Dropping iron scraps into a barrel of buttermilk transformed it into an inexpensive and easy red paint,” she discovered. “Farmers thought red absorbed the heat in the winter and kept the dairy cows warm. Also, red was thought to be neighborly and friendly.”

By: sandiegi

sandiegi — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

since most old time farmers did everything in planting various crops to caring for many different animals…milk was abundant due to a small herd occassionally the price of milk was not too great …then they would take the milk and mix with secret recipes to paint the fence, house,and even tree trunks….but to have something different for the barn (not to confuse the house with the barn ) they mixed rust shavings off equipment with milk and other ingrediants and you have red paint….in order to run a successful farm—you had to be resourseful in every way…………….

By: Dave F

Dave F — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

Red goes well with white (candy cane) and they hev lots of white milk from cows in a barn.

By: Bubble T

Bubble T — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

Rumor has it that once upon a time it was the cheapest color.

By: thevonba

thevonba — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

The practice of painting barns red goes back hundreds of years when farmers used to make their own paint using a combination of linseed oil, milk and rust. The rust was added to prevent mold from growing in the mixture—and that’s what gave it the red color. In keeping with tradition, many barns are still painted red using modern-day red paint instead.

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

cheapest paint available

By: moe h

moe h — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

Here is one explanation:http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_…
“Barns were originally painted red because back in pioneer days there wasn’t much choice. Farmers used to make their own mixture, consisting of a nauseating blend of skim milk, lime, linseed oil, and iron oxide, better known as rust.
…The mixture hardened quickly and wore well. The red color was a side product of the iron oxide.”
from Cecil Adams of the Straight Dope.

By: Tom-SJ

Tom-SJ — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:27:16 +0000

I don’t know
Its a Scandinavian custom though
they used to make paint from red mud, stale milk and flax (linseed) oil
maybe its all they had