By Joel van der Veen
May 31, 2010

DAVIDSON - A local farmer awoke to an unusual surprise on Sunday morning, courtesy of the heavy wind that struck the area over the weekend.
Looking out the kitchen window just before lunch, Ray Herauf spotted a large grain bin, not belonging to him, resting against the trees in his yard.

As it turned out, the bin belonged to Lindsay Dieno. The wind had apparently picked up the bin and blown it there from his farm, about four miles west of Herauf's property.

"I knew it had to come from the west," says Herauf. He determined the bin's owner through process of elimination and gave him a call.

Dieno had only owned the hopper bin - 18 feet in diameter, and with a capacity of 5,000 bushels - for about a week, and it was still empty.

"It's kind of strange," says Dieno. "It's not uncommon for them to roll over."

But a grain bin continuing to roll for miles is less common, he says. The bin is a write-off, and it will remain on Herauf's property until Dieno's insurance company comes to inspect it.

Dieno was out on Wednesday afternoon with an ATV, following the path the bin took and collecting the pieces that had fallen off during its journey. He said the bin had taken an indirect route, moving in different directions when it hit sloughs.

The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada.