Every year we hear of accidents involving farmers who are entrapped in grain bins as they try to dislodge spoiled grain. However, these incidents can be prevented if stored grain is kept in good condition.
For the past 40 years, Bill Field, with the Purdue Ag Safety and Health Program, has been documenting farm accidents across the country, including grain entrapments. He says the resounding theme in all cases is the accidents could have been easily avoided with proper grain management practices.
“There’s a direct correlation between grain that’s out of condition or spoiled and the increased probability of someone becoming entrapped,” he says. “They’re actually trying to work to get the grain out of storage, it’s crusted, it’s moldy, it’s plugged, so people get in there and try to get it. They fight with it to try to get it out and that’s when they get in trouble.”
Remember — storing grain when it’s too wet can cause it to spoil and crust in the bin. It’s important to dry down crops to 15% moisture or below and maintain that level while the grain is in storage. Monitor grain bins regularly because it only takes a few days for grain to spoil.
“As grain begins to warm up, it’s spoiling, it produces heat. If you can monitor the grain before it gets too bad and start moving it out of storage, getting it utilized, getting it shipped off to market, whatever needs to be done, you’re going to save an awful lot of grain,” according to Field.
The ultimate goal is to maintain grain quality in storage, so farmers won’t have to enter a bin to try to move spoiled product, thus preventing a potentially costly and deadly entrapment.
For more information, visit Purdue Extension’s Ag Confined Spaces website.
