The 2025 Annual conference was held on March 15 at the AgroLiquid Conference Center in St. Johns. Presenters told stories about building and assembling timber frame barns and converting a dairy barn into a winery. We also heard how the tower silo got its start and became the iconic symbol of 20th-century American farmsteads. As usual, the buffet lunch, fundraising auction and Barn of the Year awards were an integral part of the day.
Sentinels of the American Agricultural Landscape
Ina Hanel-Gerdenich put silos in the spotlight with her in-depth research on Michigan’s silo history. Her article for the MBPN 2025 barn calendar and excerpt of it in the MiBarn newsletter were precursors to her conference presentation.
Owner of Mirka Productions, LLC, Ina is a consultant in historic preservation, specializing in historic resources associated with rural agriculture. She has conducted many surveys of farmsteads and farm buildings, both as a private consultant and as an architectural historian. For MBPN, she has assisted with the organization of hands-on barn preservation workshops and currently serves on the Awards Committee.
Building New Timber-Frame Barns
Deron Nelson, a large animal veterinarian in Coopersville, Mich., has a strong interest in traditional agricultural practices, including timber framing. In 2012, he built his first timber-frame structure, a 32’x48’ horse barn with a full loft (pictured on left). He has since been involved in several other building projects and most recently constructed a 36’x48’ saltbox timber-frame hay barn with cupola and porch (pictured on right).
His two-part presentation covered design considerations, the process of cutting the members and joinery, assembly, raising the frame by hand, and finishes. View his slide presentation.
Adaptive Reuse: Stone House Vinyards
Greg, Kathy and Blain Adams are the owners and operators of Stone House Vinyards in Evart, Mich. Greg is the great-grandson of Ralph Hinkley, the founder of their farm, which was established in 1910 as a dairy farm operation.
The Adamses’ presentation showed us how they reimagined the property and turned it into a fruit farm. They opened a winery in 2018 complete with a renovated barn that serves as the tasting room for the public.
2025 Conference Presenters
(L to R) Ina Hanel-Gerdenich, historic preservation consultant and architectural historian, on the history of silos in Michigan; Dr. Deron Nelson, large animal veterinarian and timber framer, on building new timber frame barns; and Kathleen Adams, realtor and owner/operator of Stone House Vinyards, on converting a barn into a winery.