When the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine launched BARN AGAIN! in 1987, historic barns were considered doomed. Obsolete for modern farming needs and too expensive to maintain as family heirlooms, old barns appeared destined to be preserved only in photographs and memories.

Several years and hundreds of success stories later, that attitude is changing. Through demonstration projects, case studies, publications, technical assistance, and an awards program, BARN AGAIN!, has been chipping away at the widely accepted premise that new is better. The program has shown how historic barns can be adapted for new farming uses ranging from dairy, hog, and cattle operations to machinery or grain storage. Barn preservation techniques have proven to be cost-effective alternatives to tearing down the old barn and putting up a new building.

The BARN AGAIN! program provides advice, information, and referrals to an average of 700 barn owners each year.

For more information about BARN AGAIN!, call 303/623-1504.

The annual BARN AGAIN! awards draw national attention to the personal efforts of farmers and ranchers who have preserved their buildings. Award-winning projects are used as models to demonstrate preservation techniques and new uses for older barns.

Technical guides, such as the Barn Aid series, provide practical information for owners of historic barns.

See if your state or county has a local barn preservation program in place. These groups provide support for barn rehabilitation projects.

Some federal, state, and local programs are available, to help defray the costs of a barn preservation project. Get the scoop on financial aid available for barn restoration.

The ERTL Collectibles American Country Barn Series, sculpted by Lowell Davis, honors the grand Cathedrals of the Prairie in miniature. Models of 17 barns, including this offering, an Ogee arched-roof structure in Glen Arbor, Michigan, are available for puchase, along with BARN AGAIN! T-shirts, videos, posters and publications.

BARN AGAIN! works with local, state and national partners involved in historic preservation, farmland conservation and rural development. Joint activities have included barn preservation conference sessions, workshops, television programs , exhibits and public policy initiatives.

BARN AGAIN! is a national program that provides information to help owners of historic barns rehabilitate them and put them back to productive use on farms and ranches. We provide technical assistance through a BARN AGAIN! hotline, publish rehabilitation guides, sponsor workshops, exhibits and other events, and present annual awards for the best examples of historic barns rehabilitated for continued farming use. BARN AGAIN! is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine.