Waiser: Neglect of U of S barns is a warning for the future

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The seed barn and old poultry science building — the two structures that are no longer wanted by the U of S — are part of this story, part of this legacy.

The seed barn, dating from 1915, was originally a federal government building before being turned over to the university. The 80-ton structure was moved to another campus location in 2013.

The 1918 poultry building, designed by university architects Brown and Vallance, was once an instruction facility for the department of poultry husbandry. There were offices (including one for the library and records), a lecture room, a separate wing for brooders, and an egg testing area in the basement.

Both structures have not been used for their original purpose for several years. It’s argued that the university has moved on from the days when agricultural science was its core activity.

But is not the new USask Global Institute for Food Security a later day version of this work? After all, U of S agricultural scientists were calling for crop diversification and mixed farming before the Great Depression and the record drop in wheat prices.

Finding another use for the barns is evidently too costly, even though some people on campus still work out of trailers. Their current state — something Fowler inherited — makes re-purposing an expensive enterprise. Besides, the university wants the land they sit on for expansion.

Their fate seems sealed unless they can be sold and moved. As in the case of the Livestock Pavillon, they are likely to get the wrecking ball treatment and join the “what was” category on the university archives campus building inventory.