Is there usually anything buried underneath a farm silo?
Silos require very strong footings, and below that is typically crushed rock to provide drainage. There are tiles put around the footings, in the level of the stone for drainage. Depending on soil profiles, some silos are built on the surface (slab on grade) and others are sunk into the ground deep enough to prevent frost penetration to the bottom.
Most of the tall silos you see on a farm will have a concrete base to both keep the silo upright and to provide a floor for the equipment that removes the silage. A silo is designed to hold chopped corn (or similar material) in a oxygen-free (or at least limited) condition. This allows the microbes to ensilate the material and make it more palatable for the livestock and more digestible. By adding fresh material to the top and removing the oldest material from the bottom there was plenty of time for the process to occur. Other ways to store silage is in a trench in the ground which is filled with the crop (which is packed down by running over it with a tractor) and covering it with a tarp or plastic to limit the air getting into the silage. The also use huge plastic bags --10' or more in diameter, 100 or so feet long-- into which they pack the crop and then seal the end until needed.
rats and a host of all boogeymen that hang out on farms
